Impact of Functional Decline on Outcome in Elderly Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes

BACKGROUND: Management of acute coronary syndromes in elderly patients is poorly defined. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of functional decline on all-cause mortality in elderly patients with acute coronary syndromes. METHOD: Clinical data, including the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score and assessment of functional status obtained by using the Katz scale, were prospectively collected on 272 patients 70 years or older hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes. All-cause mortality was assessed at 6 months, and longer term outcome data were obtained. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 78 years (SD, 6), and 58% were men. A total of 28% had functional decline. Six months after the index hospitalization, 38 patients had died. Another 29 patients died during a median follow-up of 611 days after the initial 6 months. Functional decline was associated with both 6-month (hazards ratio, 3.63; 95% CI, 1.91-6.88; P < .001) and long-term (hazards ratio, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.28-5.64; P = .009) outcomes. Functional decline remained associated with both 6-month and long-term outcomes in multivariate analysis and was systematically selected in the most predictive multivariate models for 6-month and long-term mortality. The multivariate model including the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score and functional decline was predictive of 6-month mortality, but the combination of functional decline and biological data was more predictive of long-term mortality than was a model combining functional decline and the Global Registry score. CONCLUSIONS: Functional decline in elderly patients with acute coronary syndromes is predictive of poor outcomes.