The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, risk factors, and cardiovascular drug therapy in very elderly Turkish patients admitted to cardiology clinics: A subgroup analysis of the ELDER-TURK study

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine the baseline clinical characteristics and the cardiovascular drug usage of patients aged ≥80 years who were admitted to cardiology clinics and to compare the cardiovascular disease and risk factors with patients aged 65-79 years who participated in the Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease in Elderly Turkish Population (ELDER-TURK) study.

METHODS
The ELDER-TURK study included 5694 patients aged over 65 years who were followed up at cardiology clinics between March 2015 and December 2015. The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the risk factors of 1098 patients aged ≥80 years (Group II) were compared with 4596 patients aged 65–79 years (Group I).

RESULTS
The mean age of Group I was 71.1±4.31 years (male: 50.2%) and the mean age of Group II was 83.5±3.12 years (male: 47.5%). The prevalence rate was 71.3% for hypertension, 24.6% for diabetes mellitus (DM), 44.7% for coronary artery disease (CAD), 35.9% for atrial fibrillation (AF), and 15.5% for renal failure. A statistical difference in the prevalence of comorbid conditions and cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as DM, CAD, renal failure, and AF was seen in the very elderly group (p<0.001, p=0.002, p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). In all, 28.7% of the very elderly were using a beta-blocker, 10.1% an angiotensin system inhibitor, 28.4% an angiotensin receptor blocker, and 32.7% a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist.

CONCLUSION
Valuable data about the prevalence of cardiovascular and comorbid diseases and medication usage among Turkey`s very elderly patients who were admitted to cardiology clinics was gathered and analyzed.