title: Comparison of cardiac findings at necropsy in octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians.
abstract: Certain clinical and necropsy cardiac findings are described and compared in 391 octogenarians (80%), 93 nonagenarians (19%), and in 6 centenarians (1%). The number of men and women was similar (248 [51%] and 242 [49%]). The cause of death was cardiac in 228 patients (47%), vascular but noncardiac in 71 (14%), and noncardiac and nonvascular in 191 (39%). The frequency of a cardiac condition causing death decreased with increasing age groups (51% vs 32% vs 0), and the frequency of a noncardiac, nonvascular condition causing death increased with increasing age groups (36% vs 47% vs 100%). Among the cardiac conditions causing death, coronary artery disease was found in 62% of cases (141 of 228), aortic valve stenosis in 16% (36 of 228), and cardiac amyloidosis in 10% of cases (22 of 228). Calcific deposits were found at necropsy in the coronary arteries in 81% of the patients (398 of 490), in the aortic valve in 47% (228 of 490), in the mitral annular area in 39% of the patients (190 of 490), and in 1 or both left ventricular papillary muscles in 25% of the patients (122 of 490). The calcific deposits tended to be less frequent in the octogenarians. Three hundred (61%) of the 490 patients had > or = 1 major coronary arteries narrowed > 75% in cross-sectional area by plaque and the percent of patients in each of the 3 age groups and the percent of coronary arteries significantly narrowed in each of the 3 age groups were similar.
authors.affiliation: Baylor Cardiovascular Institute, and the Department of Medicine, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75246, USA.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shirani
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D002423:Cause of Death; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006351:Heart Valves / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D014481:United States