[Clinical features of myocardial dysfunction in the elderly]

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cardiology
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Myocardial dysfunction (DM) is a significant concern in the elderly population.
• Understanding its clinical characteristics and progression is crucial for effective geriatric care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical features and progression of myocardial dysfunction in individuals aged 65 years and older.
• To assess the prevalence of myocardial dysfunction and its association with heart failure (HF) clinical signs in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 284 patients (89 men, 195 women) aged 65+ was randomly selected from a polyclinic database.
• Echocardiography was employed to evaluate structural and functional myocardial abnormalities.
• The severity of myocardial dysfunction was assessed using a validated heart failure clinical status scale.

Main Results:

• A high prevalence of myocardial dysfunction (80.3%) was observed in the 65+ population, with 73.2% exhibiting clinical heart failure manifestations.
• Clinical signs of heart failure were not consistently linked to the type or severity of myocardial structural/functional disorders.
• Over 26.8% of older adults were initially asymptomatic, yet a substantial portion later developed heart failure symptoms; however, a direct correlation between DM progression and clinical symptoms was not established.

Conclusions:

• Echocardiographic screening is a feasible and valuable component of comprehensive geriatric assessment for individuals aged 65 and older.
• Early detection of myocardial dysfunction, even in asymptomatic individuals, may aid in timely intervention and management strategies.