Asystole in an older patient with recurrent falls. Case report

Abstract

Introduction: Recurrent falls are a usual problema in older patients. It is therefore important to learn how to differentiate a pathological or syncopal episode from a simple stumbling fall, especially in patients who have limitations for communicating clearly and are poorly understood, in general terms, during the medical consultation. Implantable loop recorders (ILR) have been used as an investigation tool in selected cases of recurrent falls in older patients. Consequently, this case report aims to describe its usefulness in this type of patients. Case presentation: An 87-year-old female patient, hypertensive, with a history of recent stroke and frequent falls —referred to as stumbling—, received an implantable loop recorder due to atrial fibrillation. During one follow-up appointment, a 36-second pause related to a fall was documented, so a bicameral pacemaker was implanted. Conclusions: Evaluating repeated falls in older patients is complex; it must be done in detail to rule out syncopal episodes. Implantable devices to diagnose arrhythmic causes are useful and allow achieving accurate diagnoses and establish specific behaviors aimed at improving the quality of life of patients.