[Cardiac surgery in the elderly: new prospects for an increasing population].

Improvement in socioeconomic and sanitary conditions during last 2 decades has lead to 4 year-life expectancy increasing in Spanish population. Increasing in age-related cardiovascular pathologies makes more necessary cardiac surgery in the elderly. Analysis of current characteristics of elderly population, cardiac surgery indications in this group, as well as morbimortality published results and future expectations, constitute the topic of this review.