Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular structure and function in elderly women with congestive heart...

The aim of this investigation was an echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular structure and function in elderly women who were hospitalized due to congestive heart failure. Sixty-three women with heart failure aged 70-100 years (mean age, 82 years) were studied; medical histories were taken, medical examinations and chest X-ray studies, along with ECG and M-mode, 2D-mode and Doppler echocardiography were performed. Echocardiography revealed that the predominant structural lesions involved the cardiac valves; in the majority of cases, there was thickening and calcification of the mitral and aortic valves, but calcification of the mitral and aortic annulus was also frequent. Mitral regurgitation was noted in 84.1% of patients, and tricuspid regurgitation in 50.8%. More than one type of valvular dysfunction was characteristic of 57.1% of women. Among the evaluated cardiac dimensions, left atrial enlargement was observed in 84.1% of women, and ventricular septal hypertrophy in 60.3%. In the majority of patients (55.6%), the values of left ventricular ejection fraction ranged from 51% to 82%, while in the remaining 44.4% they oscillated between 18% and 50%. The most often detected underlying etiological factor in our elderly females with heart failure was coronary artery disease diagnosed in 88.9% of patients, followed by arterial hypertension (54%), and valvular defects (22.2%). In conclusion, the results indicate the presence of some characteristic lesions revealed by echocardiography in elderly patients treated for heart failure; valvular and annular degenerative lesions are commonly detected, valvular dysfunction is frequent, and in the majority of patients (55.6%) left ventricular systolic function is not impaired.