Open-heart surgery in elderly patients: short-term vs. long-term effects

The objective of the study was to analyze in-hospital mortality and long-term survival of elderly patients who underwent open-heart surgery and met the criterion of frailty. Materials and Methods. The study involved 266 patients over 75 years old complying with the frailty criterion (F-index ≤5). A total of 155 operations of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), 47 surgeries of aortic valve replacement (AVR), and 64 procedures of CABG in combination with AVR were performed. Study subjects were distributed among the groups depending on the surgery type. Postoperative complications were evaluated, and short-term and long-term outcomes were compared. Results. In-hospital mortality was 5.3% in general group, 9.4% in CABG+AVR group, 3.9% in CABG group, and 4.2% in AVR group. There was no significant difference among the rates of in-hospital mortality between the groups (р>0.05). Long-term survival rates in general group were as follows: 98.3% for 1-year survival, 94.6% for 3-year survival, and 82.1% for 5-year survival. Type of surgery had no significant impact on the outcome (р>0.05). Conclusion. Short- and long-term effects of CABG, AVR, and combination of CABG with AVR in the group of elderly patients who meet the criterion of frailty were characterized by low mortality and low incidence of non-fatal complications. The type of cardiac surgery and old age did not affect significantly the outcome of a surgical treatment.