Age-related determinants of outcome after acute myocardial infarction: a dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiographic study.

Objectives: To investigate the cause of worse survival in older patients after myocardial infarction (MI).

Design: Prospective 18-month and longer follow-up study of a cohort of 167 patients (mean age +/- standard deviation 58 +/- 12, including 71 aged >or=65) with acute MI for cardiac events, defined as cardiac death, recurrent MI, or resuscitated ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (VT/VF).

Setting: Milwaukee County Medical Complex and the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI.

Electrophysiologic Studies in Octogenarians.

To assess the risk-benefit of electrophysiologic studies (EPS) in very elderly patients, we studied 104 consecutive patients 80 years or older who underwent EPS during hospitalization. Seventy-two percent of the patients had a history of coronary artery disease, and 7% had an acute myocardial infarction during the hospitalization. Other cardiac disorders included valvular heart disease (17%) and cardiomyopathy (12%).

Elderly Patients with Late Onset of Coronary Artery Disease: Clinical and Angiographic Findings.

A group of elderly patients who did not clinically manifest coronary artery disease until after the age of 65 years were studied. Clinical and angiographic findings of these older patients were compared to findings of patients who had clinical manifestation of coronary artery disease before age 65. In both groups the most common initial manifestation was acute ischemic chest pain (62% vs 75%, NS).