Early and late results of surgery for atrial septal defect in patients aged over 60 years.

: To assess the risks and benefits attending the surgical repair of atrial septal defect in the elderly the case histories of all patients operated on at the age of 60 years or more were reviewed and follow-up study, including cardiac catheterization, was performed. A total of 17 patients (12 females and 5 males) were identified. The left-to-right shunt ratio averaged 2.7. Fifteen patients had abnormally high systolic (greater than 30 mmHg) or mean (greater than 20 mmHg) pulmonary artery pressure and the pulmonary arterial resistance was elevated (greater than 1.5 units) in eight. One patient died shortly after surgery (operative mortality, 6%) and major postoperative complications were found in four additional patients (24%). Three months after surgery the effort capacity had improved by at least one class in all survivors. After an average of 8.2 years follow-up 12 patients were alive. Ten of them felt better than preoperatively. Eight agreed to cardiac catheterization. The pulmonary blood flow was markedly decreased in all (means, 5.6 l/min postoperatively, vs 11.2 l/min preoperatively) even though a hemodynamically significant shunt persisted in two patients. The mean pulmonary artery pressure had decreased in all who were hypertensive before operation (mean, 25 mmHg vs 33 mmHg). It had slightly increased in patients who had normal pulmonary pressure preoperatively (mean, 27 mmHg vs 19 mmHg). The pulmonary arterial resistance was higher than before surgery in all except one patient (mean, 2.2 units vs 1.5 units).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)