Introduction Demographic changes in most Westernized societies have highlighted the increasing number of older and very old (80+ years) adults in the global population, of whom over two thirds will have raised blood pressure (BP) levels. These elevated BP levels…
Introduction Despite a decline in recent decades in overall cardiovascular mortality in developed countries, the overall burden of cardiovascular disease remains substantial. The incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD), acquired valvular heart disease (VHD), and heart failure (HF) increases with…
The most common cause of death in older adults is coronary artery disease (CAD). Coronary atherosclerosis is very common in older adults, with autopsy studies demonstrating a prevalence of at least 70% in persons older than 70 years. The prevalence…
Cardiac failure increases in prevalence and incidence with age. It is a disease of middle and old age, although the underlying causes differ considerably with age. In younger patients with cardiac failure, the cause is frequently coronary artery disease or…
Although frailty in older adults may be associated with an underlying loss of complexity in many physiologic systems, the clinical conditions and geriatric syndromes that are commonly present in frail older adults are often highly complex. This clinical complexity, including…
Introduction In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the role for geriatric medicine specialists in the care of older surgical patients. This has been fueled in part by the increasing numbers of older people undergoing elective and…
Social assessment is an integral part of a comprehensive multidimensional assessment of older adult patients. Many studies on the effectiveness of comprehensive geriatric assessment include a social worker on the assessment team, whose mandate typically includes identifying and addressing social…
Introduction Radical improvements in health care and general lifestyle have brought about longer life expectancy and, with it, a demographic phenomenon that has never been observed before. The steady growth of the proportion of older adults in the general population,…
Geriatric assessment is a multidimensional, usually interdisciplinary, diagnostic process intended to determine a frail older person's medical, psychosocial, and functional capabilities and problems, with the objective of developing an overall plan for treatment and long-term follow-up. It differs from the…
Although diseases occur more commonly as people get older, many become more challenging to diagnose accurately in older adults. Classic presenting symptoms may be absent, or nonspecific symptoms such as altered mental status, weight loss, fatigue, falls, dizziness, or functional…