La chirurgie cardiaque chez le sujet âgé

Progressive aging of western populations results in an increased number of elderly patients (age 80 years or older) referred for cardiac surgery. The combination of ageing and age-related diseases makes octogenarians a group of very high-risk surgical patients. A review of the international literature about coronary, aortic and mitral valve surgery in octogenarians suggests increased postoperative morbidity and earlier mortality than in younger patients. However, development of less invasive cardiac procedures will probably further improve early postoperative outcomes. Long term survival is similar to that of a population of eighty-year-olds without heart disease and significantly better than without surgery. Most importantly, postoperative quality of life is usually improved as shown by reduced symptoms and improved functional capacity.