title: Mitral valve repair in the elderly: operative risk for patients over 70 years of age is acceptable.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mitral valve repair for degenerative disease is widely accepted. Because of low risk and excellent late outcomes, surgical intervention is recommended increasingly early when repair appears possible. The place of repair vis a vis continued medical therapy in the elderly, however, is less well defined as there are scant data on their surgical risk. We reviewed our recent results with mitral valvuloplasty for degenerative disease with attention to the influence of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-day results of mitral valvuloplasty for degenerative disease between January 1996 and April 2000 were examined retrospectively. Patients with ischemic etiology were excluded. Results among those over age 70 years were compared with younger patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 140 patients (78 men and 62 women) aged 27 to 91 (mean 62+/-13) years (44 gs;70 years of age), 61 underwent isolated mitral valvuloplasty, 71 mitral valvuloplasty and coronary artery bypass, and 8 mitral valvuloplasty with other procedures. By multivariate analysis preoperative cardiogenic shock (0.001), but not age, was as a risk factor for death. Among patients stratified by age gs; or <70, there were differences in atrial fibrillation (47.7% vs 29.2%, p=0.03), prolonged ventilation (31.8% vs 15.6%, p=0.03) and hospital stay (median 9.5, range 5-285 vs median 6.5, range 2-36, p=0.001), but not 30-day readmission (15.9% vs 22.9%) or death (5.2% vs 9.1%, p=0.49).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Operative results for mitral valvuloplasty in the elderly are acceptable. Surgery should not be withheld on the basis of age alone.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Sundt
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Pasque
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Barner
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Damiano
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors