title: Medical treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation aged over 80 years in daily clinical practice: influence of age and CHADS(2) score.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate clinical data and medical treatment of very elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who are under-represented in the majority of AF studies. In this retrospective study, patients over 80 years with AF admitted to the cardiology ward during a 1-year period were investigated with respect to the type of AF, clinical characteristics, and rate or rhythm control strategy. In addition, the influence of age and CHADS(2) score on antithrombotic therapy was examined. A total of 169 consecutive patients (mean+/-S.D. age: 84.7+/-4.0 years) were included in this study. Rate control medication was administered in 79% of the patients at discharge. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) was prescribed in only 27.5% of the patients with a CHADS(2) score of > or =2 for reasons of poor compliance or unfavorable clinical conditions. Moreover, patients older than 85 years received OAC less frequently than those aged between 80 and 84 years (7% vs. 36%, p<0.001). Our results indicate a real need for educational programs aimed at instructing all staff involved with this group of patients, so that the necessary pre-conditions for a maximum OAC therapy can be achieved in these very elderly AF patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Saale-Unstrut Hospital Naumburg, Humboldtstr. 31, D-06618 Naumburg, Germany. ulrich.lotze@klinikum-burgenlandkreis.de
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lotze
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liebetrau
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Malsch
authors.forename: Benita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frühwirt
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rothhagen
authors.forename: Natalya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kharatyan
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neubauer
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D002309:Cardiology / Q000379:methods; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016330:Frail Elderly; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D000925:Anticoagulants