Electrocardiogram, clinical findings and chest x-ray in persons aged 85 years or older

Persons aged 85 years or more (n = 674) living in Tampere, Finland, were surveyed in 1977 and 1978. Five hundred fifty-nine persons (83%) were examined. Electrocardiographic findings, classified according to the Minnesota code, were compared with reported cardiac symptoms, clinical congestive heart failure, clinical coronary heart disease and relative cardiac volume on chest radiograph. Electrocardiographic items had a poor association with cardiac symptoms. ST-segment depression, T-wave inversion, ventricular premature complexes and atrial fibrillation were related statistically highly significantly to clinical congestive heart failure, as were ST-segment depression and T-wave inversion to clinical coronary heart disease. High left R waves, ventricular premature complexes and atrial fibrillation showed a significant association with cardiac enlargement (over 500 ml/m2) and pulmonary congestion in chest radiographs.