A new study shows that nursing home residents who had just started taking antihypertensive medications to control their blood pressure were at an increased risk of fractures and falls. Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the retrospective study’s results shed light on how medications may make patients more vulnerable and highlight a need for caution when initiating therapy among residents of long-term nursing homes.
Risk Is Highest Within 1st Month of Treatment
Unintentional injuries are the fifth leading cause of death among older adults, with falls causing two-thirds of those injuries, according to the study. Nursing home residents receiving long-term care are especially vulnerable to such injuries due to their often having multiple conditions, being on multiple medications, and being frail. Most people living in long-term care facilities will experience a fall any given year; 25 percent of those falls will lead to serious injury, and between 10 percent and 15 percent will result in fracture, hospitalization, or death.When first initiated, blood pressure-lowering drugs pose an increased risk of falls for residents living in health care facilities. The research team noted that more than 70 percent of older adults are diagnosed with hypertension, adding that blood pressure-lowering therapies are the most commonly used medications in the older population.
