[Characteristics of myocardial diseases in the elderly].
Myocardial diseases consist of cardiomyopathy of unknown origin and specific myocardial diseases of known origin. The former consists mainly of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In the latter, cardiac amyloidosis may be most frequently seen in the elderly. One hundred and twenty patients with cardiomyopathy were studied concerning their clinical courses. They were divided into 2 groups; i) young-middle-aged (Y) and ii) elderly (0). Group 1 was divided into 2 subgroups: 1a) followed up to an age less than 60 years old, and 1b) followed up to beyond age 60. In DCM, left ventricular posterior wall thickness and left atrial diameter increased significantly in the elderly. In HCM, young patients had obstructive type disease more frequently than the elderly. A history of mild hypertension was found more frequently in the middle-aged or elderly than in the young. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter increased and left ventricular wall thickness decreased significantly in the elderly. Many patients with DCM usually die of congestive heart failure with ventricular arrhythmia, and those with HCM, both young or middle-aged, often die suddenly during sports activity. If there is an adaptive system, such as increased wall thickness in DCM or decreased wall thickness and increased diameter in HCM, which may contribute to the normalization of left ventricular wall stress, the patients might be able to survive to old age.
Sugishita
Y
Y
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tsukuba.
Iida
K
K
Iwasaki
Y
Y
el Sersi
M
M
Fujieda
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged