Ciara Rice

• MSc Cardiology and Stroke
• St. James's Hospital

Background While ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) biomarkers can predict cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes, little work to date has examined their link with falls. The objective of this study was to examine associations between ABPM biomarkers and further falls in a cohort of older people with recent falls. Methods A consecuti...

Purpose Falls are the commonest cause of accidental death in older people and the most frequent reason for their presentation to hospital. The Screening Tool of Older Persons Prescriptions in older adults with high falls risk (STOPPFall) facilitates deprescribing by providing a clear consensus on which medications are considered fall-risk-increasin...

Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is common in young adults and is attributed to cerebral hypoperfusion. However, during active stand (AS) testing, only peripheral and not cerebral hemodynamic responses are measured. We sought to determine whether cerebral oxygenation responses to an AS test were altered in young VVS patients when compared to the young healt...

Features extracted from cerebral (TSI) and peripheral (SBP) responses to an active standing test in a selected patient. See the related article by Pérez‐Denia et al., pages 1973–1986.

Aims: Diagnostic criteria for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in patients with suspected reflex syncope are lacking. The study hypothesis was that patients with reflex syncope have a higher prevalence of systolic blood pressure (SBP) drops on ABPM. Methods and results: ABPM data from reflex syncope patients and controls, matched by a...

Objective: Diagnostic criteria for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in patients with suspected reflex syncope are lacking. We hypothesized that patients with reflex syncope have a higher prevalence of systolic blood pressure (SBP) drops on ABPM. Design and method: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing ABPM data from reflex s...

Background: Age-related morbidities and frailty are associated with impaired blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) recovery after standing. Here we investigate how multimorbidity affects cerebral and peripheral hemodynamics during standing in a large sample of older patients. Methods: Patients were recruited from a national Falls and Syncope U...

Background The effects of age and frailty on cerebrovascular function are poorly understood. Here we investigate the hypotheses that aging, and frailty are accompanied by impaired regulation of cerebral oxygenation during standing in a patient population of older adults. Methods We recruited patients from a national Falls and Syncope service. All...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Irish Research Council (IRC): Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme 2018, Dublin, Ireland Fundació Universitària Agustí Pedro i Pons, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Background Syncope is a transient loss...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Irish Research Council (IRC): Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme 2018, Dublin, Ireland Fundació Universitària Agustí Pedro i Pons, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Background The origin of syncope, a tr...

PurposeIdentifying physical frailty is useful in the context of falls and syncope assessment. The phenotype-based SHARE Frailty Instrument for Primary Care (SHARE-FI) does not measure gait speed. We evaluated the association between SHARE-FI and gait speed in a Falls’ and Syncope Unit (FASU).Methods We recruited a pilot sample of patients aged 50 a...

Background: Up to half of patients presenting with falls, syncope or dizziness are admitted to hospital. Many are discharged without a clear diagnosis for their index episode however, and therefore a relatively high risk of readmission. Aim: To examine the impact of ED-FASS (Emergency Department Falls & Syncope Service) a dedicated specialist se...

Background Falls, syncope and presyncope comprise a large proportion of emergency department (ED) presentations among older people, however accurate data detailing this is limited. The aim of this study therefore was to ascertain the percentage of ED presentations in older people due to falls/syncope/presyncope, and examine admission rates, length...

Background Patients with falls/syncope/presyncope frequently present to the emergency department (ED) and many that could be managed safely in an ambulatory care setting are admitted for extensive diagnostic work-up. A pilot intervention commenced in March 2019, with direct access to specialist assessment in the ED for patients presenting with fall...

The Task Force for the diagnosis and management of syncope of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)Developed with the special contribution of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)Endorsed by: European Academy of Neurology (EAN), European Federation of Autonomic Societies (EFAS), European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM), European Un...

Introduction: An impaired transient heart rate (HR) response to standing is a well-known marker of autonomic dysfunction. A new parameter, speed of HR recovery (HRR10s|20s), has recently been proposed to characterize this response and has been noted as a novel mortality risk factor in those aged over 50. The short-term repeatability of this paramet...

https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy071

Aims: Unexplained falls account for 20% of falls in older cohorts. The role of the implantable loop recorder (ILR) in the detection of arrhythmias in patients with unexplained falls is unknown. We aimed to examine the diagnostic utility of the ILR in detection of arrhythmogenic causes of unexplained falls in older patients. Methods: A single cen...

The prevalence of focal neurology (FN) as a consequence of syncope is unknown. The aim of the study was to determine its prevalence, risk factors and short-term consequences. A consecutive sample of syncope-unit attendees during a 9-month period had detailed diagnostic syncope evaluation as per European Cardiac Society guidelines coupled with asses...

Syncope is a common symptom, experienced by 15% of persons less than 18 years old and up to 23% of elderly nursing home residents, so it is important to consider optimizing strategies for the management of these patients. The strategy selected will inevitably differ from place to place. However, an organized structure offers more cost-effective car...

Introduction: The study aims were to investigate the prevalence of objective and self-reported atrial fibrillation (AF), treatment rates of AF, and the factors underlying awareness and treatment, in a large nationally representative Irish sample. Methods: A nationally representative population sample of people aged 50+ years, living in Ireland (sam...

Aim: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF), treatment rates of AF and the factors underlying awareness and treatment, in a large nationally representative study. Methods: A population sample of people aged 50+, living in the Republic of Ireland, were recruited as part of The Irish longitudinal stud...

Aim: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF), treatment rates of AF and the factors underlying awareness and treatment, in a large nationally representative study. Methods: A population sample of people aged 50+, living in the Republic of Ireland, were recruited as part of The Irish longitudinal study o...

Syncope is a common clinical problem accounting for up to 6% of hospital admissions. Little is known about resource utilisation for patients admitted for syncope management in Ireland. To determine the utilisation of resources for patients admitted for syncope management. Single centre observational case series of consecutive adult patients present...