title: Effect of age on outcomes after left ventricular assist device placement.
abstract: The influence of age on outcomes after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is not well studied. To address this question, we assessed 222 patients who underwent LVAD placement and were divided into quartiles based on age (years): group 1, <or=44; group 2, 45 to 53; group 3, 54 to 59; and group 4, >or=60. Eighty-four patients died on LVAD support. Six- and 12-month survivals for the four groups of LVAD patients were 67.7, 73.7, 49.8, and 38.2, and 49.4, 57.3, 42.7, and 26.2, respectively (all P<.01). Older patients showed a higher risk of infections, embolic strokes, and respiratory complications. They were the least likely to undergo reoperations postimplantation (56%, 53%, 50%, 46%, P=.06). After adjusting for baseline differences between the groups, there was a trend toward increasing mortality with age, which did not reach significance (odds ratio 1.93; 95% confidence interval 0.95 to 3.92 for the oldest quartile as compared with the youngest). In conclusion, these results suggest in the absence of other high risk factors, age alone should not be used as an independent contraindication for LVAD implantation.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Howser
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Portner
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Pierson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Butler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome