title: Pathophysiology of acute coronary syndromes in the elderly.
abstract: Elderly patients represent an important proportion of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) population. Furthermore, this group of ACS patients is continuously growing because of the progressive ageing of the population. The ageing process implies marked changes in patient physiology that directly impact in their risk. However, there is a differential distribution in the risk of elderly patients, revealing the existence of a discrepancy between the chronological and the "biological age". This discrepancy has highlighted the need of performing individual risk assessment in order to identify those patients at higher risk. In addition, the lack of representation of elderly patients in clinical trials leads to the underutilization of evidence-based therapies in this group of patients. All these factors influence not only the high prevalence of ACS presentation in the elderly but also their worse prognosis after suffering an ischaemic event. Herein we will explore the pathophysiological mechanisms behind the age-related changes at the vascular and the cardiac level that explain the high risk of elderly subjects of suffering ACS and their worse prognosis.
authors: Cardiovascular Research Center (CSIC-ICCC) and Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Cardiovascular Research Chair UAB, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: lbadimon@csic-iccc.org.
authors: Lina
authors: L
authors: Badimon
authors: Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors: Raffaele
authors: R
authors: Bugiardini
authors: Cardiovascular Research Center (CSIC-ICCC) and Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Judit
authors: J
authors: Cubedo
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Acute coronary syndrome; Ageing; Cardiovascular disease; Elderly