PURPOSE: To evaluate epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of elderly patients with cardiovascular disease in Brazil. METHODS: Elderly patients with cardiovascular disease treated in 36 centers of cardiology and geriatrics were investigated through a questionnaire applied to those who had an appointment during the analyzed period . RESULTS: 2196 elderly patients ranging from 65 to 96 years of age were analyzed, 60% of which were females. The main risk factors were: sedentarism (74%); high blood pressure (53%), high LDL-cholesterol (33%), high total cholesterol (30%), obesity (30%), low HDL-cholesterol (15%), diabetes (13%) and smoking (6%). A higher prevalence of females existed among those with > 3 risk factors. The main reason for the medical appointment was high blood pressure (48%). Stress test and coronariography were requested more often in males. The most common diagnoses were hypertension (67%), and coronary disease (29%). The most often used medications were diuretics (42%). CONCLUSION: There was high prevalence of risk factors (93%), mainly in females; sedentarism was the most common risk factor and prevalence increased with age; hypertension was the most common reason for a medical appointment . Diuretics were the most used drugs; congestive heart failure was the main disease associated to hospitalization (31%) and emergencies (10%).
elderly; multicenter study; cardiovascular disease
