Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1983; 31(4): 215-218
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1021982
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Valve Surgery in Patients over the Age of Sixty-five

D. J. Mathisen*, J. L. Monro, A. M. Johnson, N. Conway, K. Ross
  • Wessex Cardiac and Thoracic Centre, Southampton, England
*Chief Resident Cardiothoracic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Further Information

Publication History

1982

Publication Date:
19 March 2008 (online)

Summary

Two hundred one patients over the age of 65 underwent valvular heart surgery with a hospital mortality of 5.5% and a late mortality of 18.4%. One hundred forty-one patients underwent isolated valve replacement (90 AVR, 51 MVR) with a hospital mortality of 1.5% (AVR 1 %, MVR 2%). Multiple procedures carried a significantly higher hospital mortality (16%). Analysis of hospital and late deaths does not suggest that age alone should be accepted as a decisive factor in selection for surgery. There is a significantly higher late mortality in those who have had MVR (30%) compared with those having had AVR (14.6%). The importance of associated coronary artery dtsease as a risk factor has not been defined, but there is some evidence to suggest it is more important in this respect when found in association with mitral valve rather than aortic valve disease. An improved quality of life postoperatively was evident in the majority of survivors.