Quality of Life After Open Heart Surgery in Older Patients

Based on population studies, life expectancy at age 80 is 8.5 years, and at the age of 85 years, it is 6.3 years (US Bureau of Census 2000). There are currently 1.6 million nonagenarians and roughly 72,000 centenarians living in the United States. With this increasing elderly population, knowledge of the special management issues and long-term sequela are imperative. Bacchetta and coworkers from our institution presented a 10-year outcomes experience in nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery. In 42 consecutive patients, in-hospital mortality was 7%, and 30-day mortality 5%. Postoperative morbidity was documented in 67% with arrhythmias accounting for 31% of the cases, followed by respiratory complications, infections, and strokes. While this is mostly in-hospital data, long-term follow-ups have not been performed.