Higher risk for incident heart failure and cardiovascular mortality among community-dwelling octogenarians without pneumococcal vaccination.

Aims: Octogenarians have the highest incidence of heart failure (HF) that is not fully explained by traditional risk factors. We explored whether lack of pneumococcal vaccination is associated with higher risk of incident HF among octogenarians.

Methods And Results: In the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), 5290 community-dwelling adults, ≥65 years of age, were free of baseline HF and had data on pneumococcal vaccination.

Discharge Hospice Referral and Lower 30-Day All-Cause Readmission in Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized for Heart Failure.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause for hospital readmission. Hospice care may help palliate HF symptoms but its association with 30-day all-cause readmission remains unknown.

Methods And Results: Of the 8032 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for HF in 106 Alabama hospitals (1998-2001), 182 (2%) received discharge hospice referrals.

Orthostatic hypotension and incident heart failure in community-dwelling older adults.

Objectives: To examine the association of orthostatic hypotension with incident heart failure (HF) in older adults.

Methods: Of the 5,273 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older free of baseline prevalent HF in the Cardiovascular Health Study, 937 (18%) had orthostatic hypotension, defined as ≥20 mmHg drop in systolic or ≥10 mmHg drop in diastolic blood pressure from supine to standing position at 3 minutes. Of the 937, 184 (20%) had symptoms of dizziness upon standing and were considered to have symptomatic orthostatic hypotension.