[Features regarding acute coronary syndrome in elderly Spanish patients]

Elderly patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are poorly represented in research and practice clinical guides. This study was aimed at ascertaining characteristics in patients aged older than seventy years having a high risk of ACS.

This was a prospective and descriptive study of 161 patients aged older than seventy years suffering ACS with and without ST segment elevation and high risk according to ACC/AHA guidelines. Analytic, electrocardiographic, echocardiography and epidemiological variables were included. Mortality and adverse cardiovascular events like post-infarct angina, re-infarct or heart failure were observe dafter six months.

Average age was 79.4+3.4 years old; 59.6 % of the sample was male. Arterial hypertension was the most common background (33.5 %). 57.8 % of the patients had an elevated ST segment, 44.7 % having a preserved ejection fraction (>50 %). Most patients had kidney failure (average 61.4+21.8 ml/min/1.73m2 (MDRD-4) and 23.6 % suffered arrhythmia on admission to hospital. 48.4 % of ACS having ST elevation received early reperfusion treatment with fibrinolytic therapy or percutaneous coronary intervention. They had an adverse prognosis as 20.5 % of them suffered stroke and 24.2 % died.

The ACS profile for people aged older than seventy years consisted of a hypertensive male having suffered previous angina, maintained ejection fraction, kidney failure, high morbimortality and conservative treatment at the time of initial healthcare.