Acute myocardial infarction in the elderly. Is primary coronary angioplasty the treatment of choice? In-hospital follow-up results.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the main causes of death in the elderly, however, the optimal therapy of AMI in this age-group has not yet been established.

Aim: To compare the early outcome of patients with AMI aged > or =75 years who underwent primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) or were treated conservatively.

Methods: In-hospital outcome of 180 patients aged > or =75 years, hospitalised due to AMI, was retrospectively analysed.