The elderly patient in the coronary care unit. I. Acute myocardial infarction.

In a Coronary Care Unit (CCU) with no age barrier for admission, 21 percent of the patients admitted in 1976 were aged 70 or older. Myocardial infarction was documented in 55 of 130 elderly patients. The overall incidence of arrhythmias was similar to that for younger patients. The mean duration of stay in the unit and the CCU mortality (9.1 percent) were similar in both elderly and younger patients, as was the in-hospital mortality rate. Of the patients who survived hospitalization, 75.6 percent were still living 18.1 months after the myocardial infarction. The elderly patient is as likely as the younger one to benefit from admission to a CCU.