Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
08:50

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Published on: June 16, 2014

[Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy in the aged]

M Baumhäkel1, M Böhm

  • 1Innere Medizin III, Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Universitätskliniken des Saarlandes, Homburg. magnus@baumhaekel.de

Der Internist
|December 16, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Cardiovascular disease treatment in the elderly is complex due to age-related physiological changes and multiple medications. This review covers effective pharmacotherapy and drug characteristics for older patients with heart conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Geriatric Cardiology
  • Clinical Pharmacology
  • Cardiovascular Medicine

Context:

  • Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) prevalence rises with age.
  • Elderly patients present unique challenges in CVD management.
  • Polypharmacy is common, increasing drug-interaction risks.

Purpose:

  • To review current pharmacotherapy for CVD in the elderly.
  • To discuss age-related pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes.
  • To highlight challenges and considerations in treating elderly CVD patients.

Summary:

  • Aging impacts drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, affecting CVD treatment efficacy.
  • Comorbidities often limit guideline-recommended CVD pharmacotherapy in older adults.
  • This review examines frequently used cardiovascular drugs and their use in geriatric populations.

Impact:

  • Provides insights for optimizing CVD pharmacotherapy in elderly patients.
  • Aims to improve clinical decision-making for geriatric cardiology.
  • Enhances understanding of drug interactions and management strategies in older adults with CVD.

More Related Videos

Testing the Efficacy of Pharmacological Agents in a Pericardial Target Delivery Model in the Swine10:05

Testing the Efficacy of Pharmacological Agents in a Pericardial Target Delivery Model in the Swine

Published on: July 7, 2016

Exercise Test for Evaluation of the Functional Efficacy of the Pig Cardiovascular System02:47

Exercise Test for Evaluation of the Functional Efficacy of the Pig Cardiovascular System

Published on: May 12, 2023

Related Concept Videos

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients01:15

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption01:22

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption

As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution01:00

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution

Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are not...
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism01:18

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism

Geriatric patients show significant variation in how their bodies process medications, which can change how effective and safe treatments are. The liver is the primary organ where drug metabolism occurs, involving two main types of chemical reactions: phase I and II. Phase I metabolism is driven by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, which includes key types such as CYP3A, CYP2D6, and CYP2C9. Research indicates that while aging doesn't notably alter the levels or activity of these enzymes, it...
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion01:18

Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion

In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age01:27

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...