Mesenteric Arterial Insufficiency

Cardiovascular Disease in the Elderly

“…Without LVH Intravascular volume does not seem to change very much with advancing age in normotensive subjects [56]. However, in hypertensive subjects our study revealed a significantly lower intravascular volume in the elderly than in the younger patients with similar arterial pressures (figure 6-9) [8,31].…”

“…The decision for surgery must be individualized and is facilitated by knowledge of the patient's longterm course. Echocardiographic left ventricular dimensions offer an easily obtainable index of ventricular performance [56,57]. Enlarging dimensions in the presence of increased symptoms suggests the need for cardiac catheterization and aortic valve replacement [56].…”

“…Echocardiographic left ventricular dimensions offer an easily obtainable index of ventricular performance [56,57]. Enlarging dimensions in the presence of increased symptoms suggests the need for cardiac catheterization and aortic valve replacement [56]. The asymptomatic patient with normal left ventricular function, assessed by echocardiogram or radionuclide studies, should be followed conservatively.…”

“…The results of the large multicenter trials of coronary surgery compared with medical therapy could not be extrapolated directly to the elderly because those trials excluded patients older than 65 years of age [54,55]. This is mainly because these studies were designed in the early days of coronary surgery, when mortality associated with this procedure was high in the elderly [48,56,57].…”

“…The onset of this pattern may be insidious, and specific questioning is often required of the patient to elicit its presence. Abnormal bowel function may be present, manifested by constipation [56], bloating, or occasional diarrhea [ 49].…”