[Heart arrhythmia in the elderly].
Cardiac arrhythmias are a major problem in elderly persons, because of the high prevalence of underlying heart disease and hypertension, arrhythmias are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in this age group. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. Its incidence increases with age and the presence of structural heart disease. It is a major cause of stroke, especially in the elderly. Although the established principles of evaluation and management of cardiac arrhythmias apply to all age groups, management in the elderly patient is especially challenging because of increased risk of interventional and pharmacologic therapies, altered pharmacokinetics of drugs, and sometimes unclear long-term benefits in the older patient.
Lasses y Ojeda
Luis Alberto
LA
Servicio de Cardiología Geriátrica, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, INCICH, Juan Badiano No. 1, Col. Sección XVI, Tlalpan, 14080 México, D. F. dr.lasses@ephysician.md
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence