Handgrip Strength and Congestive Heart Failure in Aging Adults: Getting a Grip on Heart Health: 875 Board #109 May 29 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Handgrip strength is a powerful biomarker of aging that is linked to a variety of health conditions; however, it is not well understood how handgrip weakness factors into certain cardiovascular diseases such as congestive heart failure (CHF). PURPOSE: To determine the association between handgrip weakness on time to CHF for aging adults in the United States. METHODS: A discrete sample of 12,658 adults aged at least 50 years (age: 68.0±10.2 years at baseline) who participated in at least one wave of the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study were included. Interviews were conducted on participants biennially. Healthcare provider diagnosed CHF was self-reported at each wave. A spring-type hand-held dynamometer assessed maximal handgrip strength. Age- and race-specific maximal handgrip strength cut-points were used for determining weakness (Black men: <40-kilograms, Black women: <31-kilograms, White men: <35-kilograms, White women: <22-kilograms). A Cox proportional hazard regression model examined the association between handgrip weakness and time to CHF. Sex, race, age, body mass index, current smoking status, smoking history, self-rated health, diabetes status, and previously reported heart conditions aside from CHF were controlled for in the analyses. RESULTS: For those included, 4,141 (32.7%) were weak and 252 (2.0%) developed CHF during the mean follow-up of 5.6±4.5 years. The covariate-adjusted Cox model revealed that those who were weak had a 35% higher hazard of CHF (hazard ratio: 1.35; 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.80), relative to those who were not-weak. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that handgrip weakness was associated with an increased risk of incident CHF for aging adults in the United States. Measures of handgrip strength should become more commonplace in clinical settings for assessing age-related weakness and risk for poor clinically-relevant health outcomes such as CHF. Similarly, interventions aiming to prevent or treat CHF in aging adults should incorporate measures of handgrip strength. Engaging in muscle strengthening activities and behaviors earlier in life may help to preserve strength and lower risk for CHF during aging.