Primary coronary angioplasty in patients over 80 years of age

ABSTRACT Background The number of elderly patients submitted to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly prevalent. Historically, this population has a worse prognosis when compared to the younger ones. This study aimed to compare the characteristics and 30-day clinical outcomes of patients aged ≥ 80 years to those Methods Observational, prospective cohort study, extracted from the database of Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul, between 2009 and 2013. Results A total of 1,970 patients were included, of whom 122 (6.2%) were aged ≥ 80 years. The elderly showed a predominance of the female gender (50% vs. 29%; p p = 0.004), Killip class 3 or 4 (13.1% vs. 7.4%; p p p = 0.08), but the Blush 3 post was lower (59.3% vs. 70.9%; p = 0.01) in the elderly. Angiographic success was obtained in 92.0% vs. 95.6%; p = 0.07. Temporary pacemakers, severe arrhythmias, and aborted sudden death were more frequently observed in patients aged ≥ 80 years. The rates of major adverse cardiovascular events and death at 30 days were higher in the older group (32.2% vs. 11.5% and 29.7% vs. 7.2%; p Conclusions In this contemporary analysis, patients aged ≥ 80 years undergoing primary PCI had a more severe clinical and angiographic profile, longer door-to-balloon time, lower final Blush 3, with higher rates of hospital complications and 30-day mortality when compared with younger patients.