Defining outcomes in older patients with cardiovascular disease.

It is now possible to track a comprehensive range of outcomes in elderly cardiac patients. Beside vital clinical end-points, these include health-related quality of life, satisfaction with care, and economic outcomes. This range of outcomes, each set complementing the others, can support patient care that is more effective from both the physician's and the patient's perspective. In this summary article, quality of life, satisfaction and economic outcomes are explored relative to the treatment of elderly cardiac patients. This is not meant to diminish the importance of the clinical measures that can and must be readily appreciated by physicians managing their cardiac patients. Instead, the measures discussed here augment the armamentarium that physicians can use to implement their patient care responsibilities.