title: Coronary heart disease in the elderly.
abstract: In 1984, 435,759 deaths were attributed to CHD among persons greater than or equal to 65 years of age. CHD was the leading cause of death in this group. Death rates rose steeply with age among the elderly. Men had higher death rates than women, but the male-to-female ratio declined with increasing age. Considerable geographic variation in CHD mortality in the elderly was noted. Since 1968, CHD death rates have declined in persons greater than or equal to 65 years of age in each age, sex, and race group. However, prevalence of self-reported CHD in the elderly population has increased. Prevalence rates increased with age except for a slight decrease above age 75 in men. In 1985, 436,000 persons aged greater than or equal to 65 years were discharged with a principal diagnosis of acute MI. The hospital case fatality rate was 21.8%. Since 1970, hospitalization rates for acute MI have generally increased, while hospital fatality rates have decreased for persons greater than or equal to 65 years of age. Since 1979, utilization of coronary artery bypass surgery and coronary arteriography have dramatically increased among the elderly. In 1980 and 1981, elderly persons made six million visits to physicians' offices for chronic CHD. CHD contributed importantly to the 1980 expenditures of 3.3 billion dollars in men and 4.8 billion dollars in women greater than or equal to 65 years of age for heart disease care. Although mortality rates from CHD in the elderly have decreased since 1968, increasing hospitalization rates and utilization of other health care services emphasize the need for more vigorous efforts at prevention.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D044383:Black People; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors