CLINICAL AND SURGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ELDERLY SUBMITTED TO CARDIAC SURGERY

Abstract

Introduction: Life expectancy has increased in recent decades and associated with this there is also an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. One form of treatment for these diseases is the heart surgery, which is very prevalent in the elderly. Objective: To characterize the clinical and surgical profile of elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: A retrospective observational study of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Nobre Cardiology Institute, in Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. On the first postoperative day, all patients were evaluated in search of data related to their clinical and surgical profile. Results: During the study period 51 patients were operated on, 39 men (77%), with an average of more prevalent age above 75 years (30%), hypertension and diabetes mellitus being the most frequent comorbidities (67 and 58%, respectively) and 53% with the body mass index within the normal range. Regarding the surgical characteristics 90% of patients underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, requiring in 72% of cases three bridges, extracorporeal circulation time of 74 ± 22 minutes and time of mechanical ventilation 8 ± 4 hours. Conclusion: Based on these findings, the subjects to myocardial revascularization can be characterized as hypertense, sedentary males over 75 years old.