[Calculation of cardiovascular risk in elderly patients]

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Geriatrics
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors remain relevant in advanced age, with potential for CV event reduction through risk factor modification.
• Standard CV risk calculation scales are often unsuitable for older adults (>65 years), frequently leading to risk overestimation.
• Accurate CV risk assessment in the elderly is crucial to avoid overtreatment and manage health effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the procedure for predicting cardiovascular risk in older adults.
• To introduce and validate the SCORE-old age scale for improved CV risk assessment in the 65-80 age group.
• To highlight the benefits of using the SCORE-old age scale in clinical practice for the elderly.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on cardiovascular risk assessment in aging populations.
• Validation of the SCORE-old age scale, derived from the SCORE risk calculation scale, for individuals aged 65-80 years.
• Comparison of the predictive accuracy of the SCORE-old age scale against standard CV risk scales for CV mortality.

Main Results:

• The SCORE-old age scale demonstrates superior prediction of CV mortality in the 65-80 age group compared to standard risk scales.
• Implementation of the SCORE-old age scale can lead to a decrease in the erroneous overestimation of CV risk in the elderly.
• Accurate risk stratification using the SCORE-old age scale has the potential to reduce unnecessary drug prescriptions in older patients.

Conclusions:

• The SCORE-old age scale is a validated tool for predicting cardiovascular mortality in adults aged 65-80 years.
• Utilizing the SCORE-old age scale improves the accuracy of CV risk assessment in the elderly.
• Adoption of the SCORE-old age scale can optimize cardiovascular risk management and reduce polypharmacy in aging populations.