Older patients 'can benefit from cardiac surgery'
Friday 31st October 2008
Major cardiac surgery can be carried out on patients in their 80s and 90s, a new international study has revealed.
According to Drs Rakesh Chaturvedi and Kevin Lachapelle, this new information indicates that elderly patients can enjoy years of quality of life following heart surgery.
The study, carried out at McGill University in Montreal, found that 72 per cent of elderly cardiac surgery survivors are able to continue living at home, while 91 per cent claim to enjoy a better quality of life.
"We are sometimes asked if we are wasting money operating on patients
aged 80 and over and if we are putting elderly patients through unnecessary trauma," said Dr Chaturvedi.
However, he explained that the successful track record of these surgeries might actually save costs in the healthcare system in the long-term.
"The elderly should be given the same opportunity as a young patient for access to significant medical care," Dr Lachapelle added.
Earlier this month, a report launched by the Department of Health revealed that primary angioplasty will become the UK's first line of emergency treatment for heart attacks.
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