ABSTRACT
In 2004, there were 732,000 hospital admissions in the United States with a first-listed
diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (MI) (1). Of these, 460,000 (62.8%) occurred in
the 12.4% of the population aged 65 years or older, 42.3% occurred in the 6.1% of the
population over the age of 75, and 17.1% occurred in the 1.6% of the population over the
age of 85 (1). Moreover, approximately 85% of all deaths attributable to acute MI occur in
patients over age 65, and 60% occur in patients over age 75 (1,2). Thus, acute MI is
exceedingly common in older adults, and the case fatality rate is disproportionately high.
This chapter reviews the treatment of elderly patients with acute MI, including the
management of selected complications.
