Cardiac surgery in the elderly

Due to the increasing demographic changes and the fact that cardiovascular diseases are still the leading cause of death, the mean chronological age of patients undergoing cardiac surgery is steadily increasing. In 2015, 14.8% of these patients were aged 80 years and older. This meta-analysis reviewed if and under what circumstances elderly patients benefit from cardiac surgical procedures without running the risk of limitations in the quality of life and high rates of morbidity and mortality. Generally, the chronological age was not a risk factor for higher perioperative and postoperative morbidity and mortality but the biological age was the critical factor, in particular the associated comorbidities of patients and the timing of the surgical procedure in the course of the disease. The result is that elective operations resulted in a better outcome than operations in a symptomatic or decompensated stage of a disease. Compared to patients receiving conventional medicinal therapy, elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery had an improved life expectancy. A significant increase in the quality of life could also be identified and was ultimately comparable to those of younger patients after cardiac surgery; therefore, elderly patients even those over 80 years old benefit in all aspects of cardiac surgery, as long as individually adapted operative techniques are considered.