Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T12:22:19.029Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 15 - Cardiovascular Diseases in Elders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2020

Kim A. Collins
Affiliation:
LifePoint Inc, South Carolina
Roger W. Byard
Affiliation:
University of Adelaide
Get access

Summary

The investigation of death due to suspected cardiac disease in the elderly, whether sudden unexpected or otherwise, should follow the same approach as in younger individuals. This should include a thorough scene investigation and review of the history of the events leading up to death (if witnessed), a complete autopsy, appropriate laboratory studies – at least a comprehensive drug screen, a microscopic examination of the tissues – and, finally, determining the cause and manner of death [1].

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cohle, S.D., Sampson, B.A.. The negative autopsy: Sudden cardiac death or other?Cardiovasc Pathol 2001; 10: 219–22.Google Scholar
Yoon, P.W., Bastian, B., Anderson, R.N. et al. Potentially preventable deaths from the five leading causes of death – United States, 2008–2010. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2014; 63: 369–74.Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control. Table 20. Leading causes of death and numbers of deaths, by age: United States, 1980 and 2014 [Online]. www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2015.htm#020/ (accessed May 1, 2018)Google Scholar
Go, A.S., Mozaffarian, D., Roger, V.L., et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics – 2013 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2013; 127: e6e245.Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control. Underlying cause of death, 1999–2016 request [Online]. https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D76/ (accessed May 1, 2018).Google Scholar
Word Health Organization. WHO mortality database [Online]. Updated May 2018. http://apps.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/mortality/whodpms/ (accessed May 1, 2018).Google Scholar
Daniels, L.B., Clopton, P., Laughlin, G.A., et al. Galectin-3 is independently associated with cardiovascular mortality in community-dwelling older adults without known cardiovascular disease: The Rancho Bernardo Study. Am Heart J 2014; 167: 674–82.Google Scholar
Braunwald, E.. Heart failure. JACC: Heart Failure 2013; 1: 120.Google Scholar
Wang, T.J., Evans, J.C., Benjamin, E.J., et al. Natural history of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction in the community. Circulation 2003; 108: 977–82.Google Scholar
Cheng, S., McCabe, E.L., Larson, M.G., et al. Distinct aspects of left ventricular mechanical function are differentially associated with cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in the community. J Am Heart Assoc 2015; 4: e002071.Google Scholar
Gerber, Y., Weston, S.A., Redfield, M.M., et al. A contemporary appraisal of the heart failure epidemic in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 2000 to 2010. JAMA Intern Med 2015; 175: 9961004.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bajaj, N.S., Bhatia, V., Sanam, K., et al. Impact of atrial fibrillation and heart failure, independent of each other and in combination, on mortality in community-dwelling older adults. Am J Cardiol 2014; 114: 909–13.Google Scholar
Coles, A.H., Fisher, K., Darling, C., et al. Long-term survival for patients with acute decompensated heart failure according to ejection fraction findings. Am J Cardiol 2014; 114: 862–8.Google Scholar
Fishbein, G., Fishbein, M.. When is having a big heart a problem? Acad For Path 2011; 1: b–f.Google Scholar
Tavora, F., Zhang, Y., Zhang, M., et al. Cardiomegaly is a common arrhythmogenic substrate in adult sudden cardiac deaths, and is associated with obesity. Pathology 2012; 44: 187–91.Google Scholar
Wolk, R.. Arrhythmogenic mechanisms in left ventricular hypertrophy. Europace 2000; 2: 216–23.Google Scholar
Haider, A.W., Larson, M.G., Benjamin, E.J., et al. Increased left ventricular mass and hypertrophy are associated with increased risk for sudden death. J Am Coll Cardiol 1998; 32:1454–9.Google Scholar
Kitzman, D.W., Scholz, D.G., Hagen, P.T., et al. Age-related changes in normal human hearts during the first 10 decades of life. Part II (Maturity): A quantitative anatomic study of 765 specimens from subjects 20 to 99 years old. Mayo Clin Proc 1988; 63:137–46.Google Scholar
Miller, D.V.. Approach to cardiomyopathy diagnosis. In Miller, R., Revello, P. (ed.) Diagnostic Pathology: Cardiovascular, 2nd ed. AMIRSYS, Salt Lake City; 2018: pp. 142149.Google Scholar
Goor, D., Lillehei, C. W., Edwards, J.E., et al. The “sigmoid septum”: Variation in the contour of the left ventricular outflow. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med 1969; 107: 366–76.Google Scholar
Adamson, P.B., Gilbert, E.M.. Reducing the risk of sudden death in heart failure with beta-blockers. J Card Fail 2006; 12: 734–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pimentel, M., Zimerman, L.I., Rohde, L.E., et al. Stratification of the risk of sudden death in nonischemic heart failure. Arq Bras Cardiol 2014; 103: 348–57.Google Scholar
Roberts, W.C., Shirani, J.. Comparison of cardiac findings at necropsy in octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians. Am J Cardiol 1998; 82: 627–31.Google Scholar
Pohjola-Sintonen, S., Muller, J.E., Stone, P.H., et al. Ventricular septal and free wall rupture complicating acute myocardial infarction: experience in the Multicenter Investigation of Limitation of Infarct Size. Am Heart J 1989; 117: 809–18.Google Scholar
Nadelmann, J., Frishman, W.H., Ooi, W.L., et al. Prevalence, incidence and prognosis of recognized and unrecognized myocardial infarction in persons aged 75 years or older: The Bronx Aging Study. Am J Cardiol 1990; 66: 533–7.Google Scholar
Maron, B.J., Towbin, J.A., Thiene, G., et al. Contemporary definitions and classification of the cardiomyopathies: an American Heart Association Scientific Statement from the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Heart Failure and Transplantation Committee; Quality of Care and Outcomes Research and Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Interdisciplinary Working Groups; and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation 2006; 113: 1807–16.Google Scholar
Goldman, S., Zadina, K., Moritz, T., et al. Long-term patency of saphenous vein and left internal mammary artery grafts after coronary artery bypass surgery: results from a Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study. J Am Coll Cardiol 2004; 44: 2149–56.Google Scholar
Bradshaw, S.H., Kennedy, L., Dexter, D.F., et al. A practical method to rapidly dissolve metallic stents. Cardiovasc Pathol 2009; 18:127–33.Google Scholar
Rippstein, P., Black, M.K., Boivin, M., et al. Comparison of processing and sectioning methodologies for arteries containing metallic stents. J Histochem Cytochem 2006; 54: 673–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Basso, C., Calabrese, F., Angelini, A., et al. Classification and histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular diagnosis of inflammatory myocardial disease. Heart Fail Rev 2013; 18: 673–81.Google Scholar
Lagana, S.M., Parwani, A.V., Nichols, L.C.. Cardiac sarcoidosis: a pathology-focused review. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2010; 134: 1039–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Konno, T., Chang, S., Seidman, J.G., et al. Genetics of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Curr Opin Cardiol 2010; 25: 205–9.Google Scholar
Fay, W.P., Taliercio, C.P., Ilstrup, D.M., et al. Natural history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the elderly. J Am Coll Cardiol 1990; 16: 821–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bos, M.J., Towbin, J.A., Ackerman, M.J.. Diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of genetic testing for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol 2009; 54: 201–11.Google Scholar
Elliott, P., Andersson, B., Arbustini, E., et al. Classification of the cardiomyopathies: a position statement from the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases. Eur Heart J 2008; 29: 270–6.Google Scholar
Kholová, I., Niessen, H.W.. Amyloid in the cardiovascular system: a review. J Clin Pathol 2005; 8: 125–33.Google Scholar
Larsen, B.T., Mereuta, O.M., Dasari, S., et al. Correlation of histomorphological pattern of cardiac amyloid deposition with amyloid type: a histological and proteomic analysis of 108 cases. Histopathology 2016; 68: 648–56.Google Scholar
Ronny, F.M.H., Kleinman, G., Kurtin, P.J., et al. A case of intramural coronary amyloidosis associated with hemodialysis. Autops Case Rep 2017; 7: 1315.Google Scholar
Mavrakanas, T.A., Charytan, D.M.. Cardiovascular complications in chronic dialysis patients. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 2016; 25: 536–44.Google Scholar
Ohkawa, S.. Gender and aging as vulnerable factors developing arrhythmias; aging changes of the conduction system. [Japanese] Jpn J Electrocardiol 2008; 128: 109–18.Google Scholar
Coffey, S., Cox, B., Williams, M.J.. The prevalence, incidence, progression, and risks of aortic valve sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol 2014; 63: 2852–61.Google Scholar
van Kesteren, F., Wiegerinck, E.M., Rizzo, S., et al. Autopsy after transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Virchows Arch 2017; 470: 331–9.Google Scholar
Virmani, R., Avolio, A.P., Mergner, W.J., et al. Effect of aging on aortic morphology in populations with high and low prevalence of hypertension and atherosclerosis: Comparison between occidental and Chinese communities. Am J Pathol 1991; 139: 1119–29.Google Scholar
Stone, J.R., Bruneval, P., Angelini, A., et al. Consensus statement on surgical pathology of the aorta from the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology and the Association for European Cardiovascular Pathology: I. Inflammatory diseases. Cardiovasc Pathol 2015; 24: 267–78.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×