Mid-term mortality of very elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction with or without coronary intervention

The risk benefit of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in very elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is currently unclear. Here, we aim to identify the characteristics of these patients and clarify their mid-term mortality rate with or without PCI.

77 patients (> or =80 years) were chosen from 506 patients with AMI, and treated with (n=32) or without (n=45) PCI. The mean age and time from onset to admission increased in patients having undergone no PCI. The reasons for PCI refusal were patient/family preference (40%), renal dysfunction (17.8%), or cognitive impairment (13.3%). Patients treated with PCI had lower mid-term mortality than those without PCI (34.4% vs 62.2%; p=0.02), while patients taking beta-blockers displayed a significantly lower mortality rate than those without (18.2% vs 63.6%; p=0.0003). Cognitively impaired patients had a higher mortality rate compared with cognitively normal patients (80.0% vs 46.3%; p=0.005). Multivariate analysis indicated that systolic blood pressure on admission, PCI, and beta-blocker therapy independently decreased mid-term mortality in these patients.

PCI and beta-blocker therapy displayed significantly beneficial effects on mid-term mortality in very elderly AMI patients. Elderly-specific trials concerning coexisting disorders are needed to further examine the treatment-related benefits.