Abstract
OBJECTIVE--To establish and compare the characteristics of older (greater than or equal to 70 years) and younger patients with chest pain selected to undergo coronary angiography and by analysis of their subsequent management to assess the value of coronary angiography for older patients with chest pain. DESIGN--Retrospective analysis of clinical case notes and coronary angiography reports. SETTING--Cardiology department with referral population of one million in an Edinburgh hospital. PATIENTS--134 consecutive patients with chest pain aged 70 years or over investigated by coronary angiography between 1978 and 1988; 134 randomly selected patients aged under 70 investigated over the same period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Clinical and angiographic features at time of angiography and management after angiography. RESULTS--Older patients represented a small, but increasing, proportion of those investigated. Older patients had more severe symptoms at the time of angiography, were taking more antianginal drugs, and had had their symptoms for longer than younger patients. At angiography more older patients had triple vessel coronary disease, left main stem stenosis, or left ventricular impairment. After angiography similar proportions of older and younger patients underwent coronary artery surgery, with more elderly patients requiring urgent operation; although operative mortality was higher for elderly patients, symptomatic benefit was similar to that in younger patients. CONCLUSIONS--Older patients with angina selected to undergo coronary angiography and subsequent coronary surgery have more severe symptoms and underlying cardiac disease. Earlier referral and investigation might yield a population with lower operative risk. Selection of patients for coronary angiography and coronary artery surgery should be based on the potential for benefit and should avoid "agism."
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Cannon P. J., Connell P. A., Stockley I. H., Garner S. T., Hampton J. R. Prevalence of angina as assessed by a survey of prescriptions for nitrates. Lancet. 1988 Apr 30;1(8592):979–981. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91790-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chamberlain D., Alderslade R. Can rationing of cardiological services be rational? Br Heart J. 1990 Sep;64(3):219–222. doi: 10.1136/hrt.64.3.219. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Currie C. T. Doctors and ageism. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Dec 19;295(6613):1586–1586. doi: 10.1136/bmj.295.6613.1586. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gersh B. J., Kronmal R. A., Frye R. L., Schaff H. V., Ryan T. J., Gosselin A. J., Kaiser G. C., Killip T., 3rd Coronary arteriography and coronary artery bypass surgery: morbidity and mortality in patients ages 65 years or older. A report from the Coronary Artery Surgery Study. Circulation. 1983 Mar;67(3):483–491. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.67.3.483. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kennedy R. D., Andrews G. R., Caird F. I. Ischaemic heart disease in the elderly. Br Heart J. 1977 Oct;39(10):1121–1127. doi: 10.1136/hrt.39.10.1121. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]