Bypass surgery urged for octogenarians

LONDON, Aug 17, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Most 80 year olds should undergo heart bypass surgery, since those undergoing the surgery outlive their peers, the British Medical Journal "Heart" reports.

The study, published online ahead of print, said physicians should not shy away from operating on 80 year olds, since most of those who had the procedure were still alive five years later and had half the risk of death of their general population peers.

The findings were based on 12,461 English patients, 706 of whom were more than 80 years of age at the time of surgery. All underwent the surgery between 1996 and 2003.

The proportion of surgical patients in their 80s more than doubled during the study period, from slightly more than 4 percent to nearly 10 percent.

The researchers said the degree of urgency and the length of the procedure predicted whether a patient was likely to live or die.

The risk of dying was higher in the elderly group, and they spent longer in intensive care than their younger counterparts. But the scientists noted the elderly group's survival rates were 50 percent better after the first year of surgery than those of their peers in the general population.