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Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):128-9

Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016-8382, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):71-7

Department of Cardiology Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, China.

To investigate the relationship between age and coronary artery remodeling in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), 56 patients with ACS were identified by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Remodeling index (RI) (37 cases of RI > or =1 vs 19 cases of RI <1) and dimidiate age groups (27 patients younger than 60 years vs 29 patients 60 years or older) were compared, and the relationships among biomarkers, age, and arterial remodeling were analyzed. There was a significant difference in age between positive and negative remodeling groups (55+/-13 vs 62+/-10 years; P=. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):87-91

Department of Emergency Medicine Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

The authors compared the average electrocardiographic (ECG) intervals in a population of patients 80 years and older with published "normal" values. The medical records of patients who presented to the Mayo Clinic for health maintenance examinations and who had a routine ECG performed (N=702) were selected. Age; sex; rhythm; PR, QRS, and QTc intervals; incidence of cardiac disease; and presence of interval-prolonging medication were recorded. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):78-86

Department of Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.

The authors used population-based myocardial infarction (MI) register data to examine trends in incidence, case fatality, treatment strategies of MI, and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in persons aged 75 to 99 years in 4 areas of Finland during 1995 through 2002. This age group contributed 53% (n=13,977) of all CHD events, and 65% occurred in women. CHD mortality declined among men annually by 3. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):114-6

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):101-7

Department of Medicine, Section of Geriatrics and Gerontology and Arizona Center on Aging, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.

Frailty is a progressive physiologic decline in multiple body systems marked by loss of function, loss of physiologic reserve, and increased vulnerability to disease and death. Until recently, frailty has been poorly defined in the medical literature. One currently accepted definition of frailty is having 3 of the following 5 attributes: unintentional weight loss, muscle weakness, slow walking speed, easy exhaustion, and low physical activity. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):117-9

St Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin, Ireland.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):108-13

University Department of Pathological Biochemistry, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

Dyslipidemia conveys a major increased risk of future cardiovascular events in older persons. Data from large randomized controlled trials confirm that statin therapy is as beneficial in older adults as it is in younger persons in both primary and secondary prevention. National guidelines support the use of statin therapy to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in older adults, with the recommended goal of <100 mg/dL in high-risk patients and an optional goal of <70 mg/dL in very high-risk patients. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):92-100

Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA 70121-2483, USA.

Numerous epidemiologic and intervention trials, including many studying elderly cohorts, have demonstrated the importance of lipids in primary and secondary preventions of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. More recent studies have demonstrated that more intensive statin therapy that reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels to <70 to 80 mg/dL have resulted in more marked cardiovascular event reduction than less intensive statin treatment. The authors review the efficacy and safety of intensive vs less intensive statin therapy. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):120-2

Department of Medicine, Divisions of Geriatrics and Cardiology, Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10467, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):130-1

Waldo Cardiovascular Medicine, Belfast, ME 04915, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):125-7

Section of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The Heart and Vascular Center, Winchester Medical Center, Valley Health, Winchester, VA, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):132

Medical Service, St Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA 01608, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):123-4

Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Geriatric Heart Failure Clinic and Center for Heart Failure Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-2041, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):69-70

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):59

Medical Service, St Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA 01608, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):57-8

Waldo Cardiovascular Medicine, Belfast, ME 04915, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):55-6

Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Geriatric Heart Failure Clinic, and Center for Heart Failure Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham and VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL 35294-2401, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):53-4

Department of Cardiology, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):50-2

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75226, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):48-9

Mease Countryside Hospital, Safety Harbor, FL 34695, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):37-47

University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Smoking cessation has immediate health benefits; however, the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions among older adults and women has received limited research attention. The original Women's Initiative for Nonsmoking (WINS) study was a randomized controlled trial that tested the efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention for Bay Area women hospitalized with cardiovascular disease. The current study, which used the WINS dataset, compares participants 62 and older with those younger than 62 years. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):27-36

University of Tennessee College of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Memphis, TN, USA.

Subgroup analysis of the Irbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide Blood Pressure Reductions in Diverse Patient Populations (INCLUSIVE) trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of irbesartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) fixed combinations in patients aged 65 years or older with uncontrolled systolic blood pressure (SBP) after >or= 4 weeks of antihypertensive monotherapy. The INCLUSIVE trial was a prospective, open-label, single-arm trial carried out in 119 sites. Of 844 patients completing placebo treatment, 212 were aged 65 years or older. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):21-6

Cardiac Department, National University Hospital, Singapore.

Antiplatelet drugs, beta-blockers, statins, and angiotensinogen-converting enzyme inhibitors reduce mortality following myocardial infarction (MI). The data on the impact of combination evidence-based medications on mortality following acute MI in elderly patients are limited. In this study, 5529 patients with MI admitted between January 2000 and December 2003 were assessed. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):13-20

Department of Emergency Medicine, Institute of Clinical Science, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.

All patients older than 65 years (184 men; mean age, 78+/-0.8 years/181 women; mean age, 82+/-0.6 years) seeking medical attention at the Lund University Hospital Emergency Clinic during a 2-year period who had an N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) value >2000 pg/mL were followed up for survival. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):7-12

Department of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, Divisions of Cardiology and Geriatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Patients with heart failure (HF) are at increased risk for frailty, and identification is challenging. The authors assessed the distance on the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as a measure of frailty in 60 older HF patients (ejection fraction Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2008 Jan-Feb;17(1):5-6

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2007 Nov-Dec;16(6):355-62

Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

Stress single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET), the standard clinical methods for measuring myocardial perfusion, have been extensively validated for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in general populations. Published data in the elderly are limited. The available data suggest that in elderly patients, SPECT is as accurate for diagnostic purposes as in younger patients and that stress SPECT is considerably more accurate for prognostic purposes when compared with standard treadmill testing. Read More

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2007 Nov-Dec;16(6):386-7

Waldo Cardiovascular Medicine, Belfast, ME 04915, USA.

Am J Geriatr Cardiol 2007 Nov-Dec;16(6):340-2

Execise Testing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Geriatric Research and Clinical Center, Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Management of coronary artery disease (CAD) is a large and growing challenge for today's burgeoning population of older adults, especially because age is a key risk factor for CAD and because morbidity/mortality from CAD increases with age. Whereas many people look to cardiovascular imaging to enhance CAD management, it often remains difficult to interpret the clinical implications of positive imaging studies. Functional assessment, heart rate and rhythm dynamics, and prognostic scoring tools all provide insights that complement the data provided by high-tech imaging options. Read More