BACKGROUND: The balance of the risks and the benefits of cardiac surgery in the elderly remains a major concern. We evaluated the early and mid-term clinical results of patients aged over 75 years who underwent major cardiovascular surgery. METHODS: Two hundred and fifty-one consecutive patients, who underwent cardiac surgery at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between July 2003 and June 2011, were included in this study (mean age, 78.7+/-3.4 years; male:female=130:121). Elective surgery was performed in 112 patients, urgent in 90, and emergency in 49. RESULTS: Early mortality was 12.7% (32/251). Follow-up completion was 100%, and the mean follow-up duration was 2.8+/-2.2 years. Late mortality was 24.2% (53/219). There were 283 readmissions in a total of 109 patients after discharge. However, the reason for readmission was related more to non-cardiac factors (71.3%) than to cardiac factors. The overall survival estimates were 79.2% at the 1-year follow-up and 58.4% at the 5-year follow-up. Patients who underwent elective surgery had a lower early mortality rate (elective, 4.5%; urgent, 13.3%; emergency, 30.6%) and better overall survival rate than those that underwent urgent or emergency surgery (p <0.001). CONCLUSION: The timing of cardiac surgery was found to be an independent risk factor for early and late mortality. Thus, earlier referral and intervention may improve operative results. Further, comprehensive coordinated postoperative care is needed for other comorbid problems in aged patients.
Aged ; Cardiac Surgical Procedures ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mortality ; Postoperative Care ; Referral and Consultation ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Survival Rate ; Thoracic Surgery