title: Characterization of echocardiographic measures of cardiac structure and function in healthy octogenarians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Currently, there is not enough echocardiographic information regarding aging-associated changes in the octogenarian population. We aimed to characterize echocardiographic measures of structure and function among a group of healthy octogenarians.
  
  
  METHODS
  Approximately 350 octogenarians, residing in nursing homes, were screened in Ankara, Turkey. According to inclusion criteria, 40 octogenarians were enrolled. These subjects underwent conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography according to the guidelines of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). The population was also separated into various groups according to gender, body mass index (BMI, <25 vs. 25-29.9), and blood pressure (<80/120 mmHg vs. 80-89/120-139 mmHg). All measurements were indexed by dividing to body surface area (BSA) for standardization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Left ventricular mass (LVM), posterior wall thickness, right ventricular diameter, tricuspid E/A ratio, and septal e'-wave velocity were significantly higher in men, which lost significance after adjusting for BSA. There was no significant difference between groups formed by BMI and blood pressure. Moreover, mild global left and right ventricular dysfunction including a prominent diastolic counterpart, however, with normal ejection fraction was revealed using conventional and tissue Doppler techniques. Finally, we checked our results with the current reference values of the ASE and observed the following differences: ventricular septum, relative wall thickness, LVM, and mass index values were above ASE reference range, posterior wall measurements were close to upper range. On the contrary, left ventricular diameters and volumes were below ASE reference range.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We described echocardiographic measures of structure and function in a group of healthy octogenarians.
authors: Deparment of Cardiology, Medical and Research Center of Alanya, Başkent University, Antalya, Turkey.
authors: Akif Serhat
authors: AS
authors: Balcioğlu
authors: Murtaza Emre
authors: ME
authors: Durakoğlugil
authors: Kaan
authors: K
authors: Okyay
authors: Yusuf
authors: Y
authors: Tavil
authors: Adnan
authors: A
authors: Abaci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D014421:Turkey; D018754:Ventricular Dysfunction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
keywords: echocardiography; elderly; octogenarian; reference value; tissue Doppler