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Cardiac rhythm in healthy elderly subjects
A García1, M Valdés, V Sánchez
1Murcia University School of Medicine, Cardiology Department, Murcia General Hospital.
Insights
Normal cardiac rhythm in elderly individuals over 70 shows frequent arrhythmias, including complex ventricular types. However, these heart rhythm changes did not lead to adverse events during follow-up.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Assessing normal cardiac rhythm in the elderly is crucial for understanding age-related cardiovascular changes.
- Previous exclusion of subjects with known cardiac disease ensures focus on healthy aging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the normal 24-hour cardiac rhythm in healthy elderly individuals.
- To identify the prevalence of arrhythmias in this demographic.
Main Methods:
- 24-hour Holter monitoring was conducted on 94 healthy subjects over 70 years old.
- Comprehensive baseline cardiac assessments excluded individuals with pre-existing heart conditions.
Main Results:
- High prevalence of supraventricular (91%) and ventricular arrhythmias (89.4%) was observed.
- Complex ventricular arrhythmias affected 50% of participants; sinus pauses and AV block were less common.
- Average heart rates were 79 bpm (day) and 64 bpm (night).
Conclusions:
- Frequent arrhythmias are common in healthy elderly individuals.
- These arrhythmias, including complex ventricular types, appear benign in the absence of cardiac disease.
- Further research can refine understanding of age-related cardiac electrophysiology.
Abstract:
To study the normal cardiac rhythm in elderly subjects we performed 24-h Holter monitoring on 94 subjects aged over 70 years. We had previously discarded those with cardiac disease by using history, physical examination, electrocardiography (ECG), chest X-radiography and Doppler echocardiography. The maximum, average and minimum heart rates were 113, 79 and 62, respectively, during the day, and 90, 64 and 53 during the night. Supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias were frequent (91% and 89.4%, respectively). Some 50% of the subjects had complex ventricular arrhythmias. Two subjects presented with sinus pauses of more than 2 s, and 4 had Wenckebach second-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. During a follow-up averaging 20.8 months, there were no deaths or symptoms of an arrhythmic origin.