Cardiovascular findings in self-reported healthy elderly - The Elite Seniors Study

Background: A descriptive study of self-reported healthy elderly in Newcastle was undertaken for an adequate understanding of the normal characteristics of the elderly. Aims: We sought to determine the frequency of abnormal clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic findings in a self-reported healthy elderly population. Methods: Volunteers aged greater than 75 years were recruited from active members of the region's bowling clubs. Forty-five subjects with no self-reported vascular or cardiac disease underwent clinical, laboratory and echocardiography assessment. Results: Minor cardiovascular abnormalities were frequently detected. Echocardiography correspondingly found a high frequency of haemodynamically insignificant degenerative valvular lesions. Doppler left ventricular filling pattern of abnormal relaxation was a universal finding. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of age-related echo-Doppler abnormalities in the self-reported healthy elderly with important implications for the interpretation of echo-Doppler studies.