PMID: 11899566Mar 20, 2002Paper

Coronary angioplasty in elderly patients

Italian heart journal. Supplement : official journal of the Italian Federation of Cardiology
Francesco Liistro, Antonio Colombo

Abstract

Developed nations are experiencing an unprecedented growth in the number of elderly citizens. Thanks to the modernization of both society and medical care, over the past century, life expectancy in most countries has nearly doubled. The elderly (80 years or over) represent the fastest-growing segment of our population. Owing to their age, the elderly are more afflicted with chronic diseases, including coronary artery disease. Recently, clinicians became more aggressive in the use of invasive cardiovascular diagnostic tests in these patients. With regard to younger patients, we have a wealth of data from large, randomized trials that defined which subsets of patients benefit from revascularization therapies. However, because the very elderly were severely underrepresented in these randomized studies, we have almost no information concerning the choice of treatment in these patients. Initial results of percutaneous revascularization procedures in elderly patients come from retrospective analysis performed during the pre-stent era. In these studies a procedural mortality risk 5-fold higher in patients > 80 years compared with those < 60 is reported. With the advent of coronary stenting, a significant increase in the rate of proced...Continue Reading

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