New Findings on Heart Disease in Older Adults

Three studies yielding new findings on the development of heart disease in older people were presented by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA) at the American Heart Association's 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease, in San Antonio (TX, USA).

One study found that coronary artery calcification (CAC) continues to increase in people into advanced old age and is more strongly related to age than to baseline risk factors. Researchers measured CAC in 614 men and women with a mean age of 80 using electron beam tomography (EBT). The prevalence of clinical coronary vascular disease (CVD) was 33%, and another 33% had at least one marker of subclinical disease. Median CVD increased with age and was higher in men than in women, regardless of disease status. The proportion of subjects with no detectable CAC decreased with age from 15% under age 80 to 5% of those over 80.

An eight-year study of 187 men and women with a median age of 71 found that older adults develop hypertension if they have high levels of homocysteine. The risk increases if they are overweight and smoke. Homocysteine may contribute to hypertension through a direct effect on the elastic components of the arterial wall or through an acceleration of existing atherosclerosis.

A study of 287 healthy post-menopausal women aged 57-65 found that small-sized low density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high numbers of them pose a greater risk for coronary calcification than medium- or large-sized LDLs. The researchers say that the size and concentration of LDL particles may be a better predictor of atherosclerosis than a traditional cholesterol test.



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U. of Pittsburgh Medical Center