[Cardiac surgery in the 7th and 8th decade (author's transl)]

Progress in cardiovascular surgery and the growing amount of older people made it possible and necessary to extend open-heart-surgery to patients between 60 and 75 years of age. From 1970 to 1978 174 cardiac procedures (mostly for valve replacement and aorto-coronary-vein-bypass) were performed in this group of older patients. The total mortality rate was 18.3%. These results which have to be improved in several areas demonstrate clearly that surgery is of real benefit for these older, properly selected patients; the operative risk seems to be acceptable.