Key result
Cardiovascular drug therapy in elderly patients requires cautious titration and close monitoring.
Why the study?
Evidence supporting the use of cardiovascular medications such as statins in patients older than 75 years is sparse, and aging-related changes affect drug pharmacokinetics and toxicity.
May warrant caution extrapolating general CV drug data to patients >75; leaves open need for dedicated RCTs in this group.
Elderly individuals constitute a majority of patients encountered in current cardiovascular clinical practice. Management of these patients is a clinical challenge owing to a multitude of factors. Although medications such as statins have been shown to reduce cardiovascular mortality in the general population, evidence supporting the use of these drugs in patients greater than 75 years of age is sparse. Furthermore, aging associated changes in organ function and associated comorbidities influence the pharmacokinetics of multiple medications and can potentiate drug toxicity. In this article, we review the evidence behind the use of common cardiovascular medications in elderly patients and discuss pertinent clinical challenges.
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Ayan et al. (2016) conducted a review in Cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular medications was evaluated. Cardiovascular drug therapy in the elderly requires careful dose titration and monitoring due to age-related pharmacokinetic changes, polypharmacy, and limited randomized trial data.
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