Coronary angioplasty in octogenarians. Quality of life and costs

Improvement in quality of life is the major motivation for angioplasty in very elderly patients. The alleviation of symptoms with this method is therefore of particular interest. However, little is known about the impact of angioplasty in terms of quality of life in octogenarian patients and what the treatment costs are.

We prospectively compared patients aged 80 years or above (n=34, 83+/-3 years) with younger patients (n=34, 62+/-8 years) regarding their quality of life following coronary angioplasty. Patients were interviewed immediately following angioplasty and 6 months later using the SF-36 health survey. Key determinants of costs and follow-up for 6 months were documented. The number of diseased vessels, interventions performed and number of lesions treated were comparable in both groups. Success rates were lower in the octogenarian than in the control group (88 vs 97%). In both groups angioplasty significantly improved the ability to fulfil physical role expectations and decreased bodily pain. Both the effects on Role Physical and on Bodily Pain were more pronounced in the octogenarian patients. Determinants of costs did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Our data demonstrate that in octogenarians with symptomatic coronary heart disease, coronary angioplasty significantly increases physical abilities and decreases pain. Further, these effects were more pronounced in octogenarian patients than in younger patients.