Traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including age, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, remain significant predictors of new coronary events in an elderly population (mean age 82).
A prospective study correlated coronary risk factors with new coronary events in 192 elderly men and 516 elderly women, mean age 82 ± 8 years. Follow‐up was 41 ± 6 months (range 24–44). Coronary events (myocardial infarction, primary ventricular fibrillation, and sudden cardiac death) occurred in 64 of 192 men (33%) and in 149 of 516 women (29%), P not significant. Using univariate analysis, significant risk factors for coronary events were antecedent coronary artery disease, cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, serum total cholesterol (TC) ≥ 200 mg/dL and ≥ 250 mg/dL, serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) < 35 mg/dL, and serum TC/HDL‐C ≥ 6.5 in men and women, and obesity in women. Using multivariate analysis, significant risk factors for coronary events were age, antecedent coronary artery disease, cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and serum TC in men and women and serum HDL‐C and serum triglycerides in women. Using univariate analysis, significant risk factors for coronary events in men and women with antecedent coronary artery disease were cigarette smoking, diabetes mellitus, serum TC ≥ 250 mg/dL, and serum TC/HDL‐C ≥ 6.5. Using multivariate analysis, significant risk factors for coronary events in men and women with antecedent coronary artery disease were age, cigarette smoking, diabetes mellitus, serum TC, serum HDL‐C, and serum triglycerides. Using univariate analysis, significant risk factors for coronary events in men and women without antecedent coronary artery disease were cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, serum, TC ≥ 200 mg/dL and ≥ 250 mg/dL, serum HDL‐C < 35 mg/dL, serum TC/HDL‐C ≥ 6.5, and hypertriglyceridemia. Using multivariate analysis, significant risk factors for coronary events in men and women without antecedent coronary artery disease were age, cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, serum TC, serum HDL‐C, and serum triglycerides.
Aronow et al. (1989) studied this question.