The elderly patient and cardiac surgery - a mini-review

Due to the increase in average life expectancy and the higher incidence of cardiovascular disease with advancing age, more elderly patients present for cardiac surgery nowadays. Advances in pre- and postoperative care mean that more elderly patients can be operated on safely and with a satisfactory outcome. Currently, coronary artery bypass surgery, aortic and mitral valve surgery and surgery of the ascending aorta are performed in elderly patients.

In this review, we summarize the outcome of elderly patients undergoing various cardiac surgical procedures and give future perspectives for the treatment of elderly patients with cardiac surgery.

A PubMed search for the period from 1980 to February 2009 was conducted with the following key words: 'elderly patient', 'cardiac surgery', 'CABG aortic surgery', 'mitral valve surgery' and 'endocarditis'. Additional information concerning population demographics was obtained from the World Health Organization homepage.

More and more cardiac surgical procedures are offered to elderly patients. The short- and long-term survival rates of elderly patients are comparable to those of younger patients. Nevertheless, the risk for these patients is only acceptable in the absence of comorbidities. In particular, renal dysfunction, cerebrovascular disease and a poor clinical state are associated with a worse outcome in elderly patients.

The data available show that most cardiac surgical procedures can be performed in elderly patients with a satisfactory outcome. Careful patient selection, flawless surgery, meticulous hemostasis, perfect anesthesia and myoacardial protection are basic requirements for the success of cardiac surgery in elderly patients.