The older patient with cardiovascular disease: background and clinical implications of the comprehensive geriatric assessment

Minerva Med. 2022 Aug;113(4):609-615. doi: 10.23736/S0026-4806.22.08086-7. Epub 2022 Mar 25.

Abstract

Principles and processes of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) are increasingly being applied to subspecialties and subspecialty conditions, including cardiovascular patients (i.e., infective endocarditis; considerations of surgery or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, TAVR, for patients with aortic stenosis; vascular surgery) and postoperative mortality risk. In cardiovascular field CGA has mainly the aim to define ideal management according to the different typology of older adult patients (e.g., robust versus intermediate versus physical and cognitively disabled versus end-stage or dying), allowing physicians to select different therapeutic goals according to life expectancy; Aspect to be valued are by CGA are global health status and patient's decision-making capacity: CGA allows the individualized treatment definition and optimize the preprocedure condition.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aortic Valve / surgery
  • Aortic Valve Stenosis* / complications
  • Aortic Valve Stenosis* / surgery
  • Cardiovascular Diseases* / etiology
  • Endocarditis*
  • Geriatric Assessment / methods
  • Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation* / methods
  • Humans
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement*
  • Treatment Outcome