Comparison of cardiac findings at necropsy in octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians.

Certain clinical and necropsy cardiac findings are described and compared in 391 octogenarians (80%), 93 nonagenarians (19%), and in 6 centenarians (1%). The number of men and women was similar (248 [51%] and 242 [49%]). The cause of death was cardiac in 228 patients (47%), vascular but noncardiac in 71 (14%), and noncardiac and nonvascular in 191 (39%). The frequency of a cardiac condition causing death decreased with increasing age groups (51% vs 32% vs 0), and the frequency of a noncardiac, nonvascular condition causing death increased with increasing age groups (36% vs 47% vs 100%). Among the cardiac conditions causing death, coronary artery disease was found in 62% of cases (141 of 228), aortic valve stenosis in 16% (36 of 228), and cardiac amyloidosis in 10% of cases (22 of 228). Calcific deposits were found at necropsy in the coronary arteries in 81% of the patients (398 of 490), in the aortic valve in 47% (228 of 490), in the mitral annular area in 39% of the patients (190 of 490), and in 1 or both left ventricular papillary muscles in 25% of the patients (122 of 490). The calcific deposits tended to be less frequent in the octogenarians. Three hundred (61%) of the 490 patients had > or = 1 major coronary arteries narrowed > 75% in cross-sectional area by plaque and the percent of patients in each of the 3 age groups and the percent of coronary arteries significantly narrowed in each of the 3 age groups were similar.