Atherosclerotic heart disease in the elderly

Abstract

The elderly represent an increasingly important and challenging subset of the population of patients with ischemic heart disease. They are more likely to have comorbid conditions, atypical presentations, and unfavorable outcomes. Some of these features are undoubtedly related to the structural and functional changes in the cardiovascular system associated with aging. The available data suggest that standard pharmacologic, thrombolytic, and definitive revascularization techniques have important roles in the treatment of these patients, but have been underused.