Elderly too benefit from newer heart stents
"A common concern of doctors and patients that the elderly will have more problems or side effects during or after interventions"
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Stents coated with the drug sirolimus are safe and effective for treating elderly heart patients with blocked coronary arteries, according to a new report.
For elderly patients undergoing angioplasty with insertion of stents to prop open their coronary arteries, the risks are 2- to 4-fold higher than for younger patients, the authors explain in the American Heart Journal.
The so-call sirolimus-eluting stents, which go by the brand name Cypher, have been shown to reduce the chance of arteries becoming blocked again, and therefore the need for another operation. However, so far, there has been limited experience using the stents in patients older than 75 years. Read more