The significance of cardiac arrhythmias in the aged

Twenty-four-hour ambulatory electrocardiography was performed in 25 young and 29 active elderly subjects. Sinus bradycardia and sinus arrhythmia were common in the young but uncommon in the elderly. Ventricular and supraventricular premature beats and brief runs of supraventricular tachycardia were common in the elderly but uncommon in the young. Complex ventricular arrhythmias only occurred in the elderly but brief episodes of nocturnal Wenckebach AV block were quite common in young and old alike. No significant difference in arrhythmia frequency was found between elderly subjects with heart disease and those without heart disease or between elderly subjects without symptoms and those with non-episodic symptoms such as dizziness. None of the arrhythmias in the young or elderly subjects was associated with symptoms. In follow-up at 30 months, only one elderly subject was deceased (from pneumonia) and none had suffered a stroke or heart attack. It is concluded that transient cardiac arrhythmias are commoner in the elderly than in the young. However, their long-term significance remains unknown, but it is likely that they are relatively benign.