ABSTRACT
Acutely hospitalised elderly patients, from February 1993 to February 1994, excluding those with known valvular heart diseases, were examined by a resident. Those who had a systolic murmur were also auscultated by a cardiologist and a geriatrician and studied with 2D- and Doppler echocardiography. Of 213 potential study participants the resident auscultated 153 patients, 79-101 years old, with the mean age of 85+/-4 years, 61% of whom were women. Systolic murmurs were diagnosed in 80 of 153 patients or 53% of over the age of 80, 61% of women and 40% of men adjusted for sex (p<0,025). Fifty seven patients with systolic murmurs were evaluated with 2D- and Doppler echocardiography. Maximal Doppler gradients 3=30 mmHg, representing significant aortic stenosis were found in 8/57 subjects (14%), aortic sclerosis in 44 (77%), and mitral regurgitation in 25/57 (44%); 1 degrees on the scale of 1-4 in 19 of 25. The sensitivity and specificity of clinical examination for the detection of aortic stenosis was 62-100% and 71-77%, aortic sclerosis 54-56% and 85-92% and mitral regurgitation 24-52% and 69-97%, respectively. Systolic murmurs are prevalent in the aged and more so in women than men. 2D- and Doppler echocardiography is of value since the clinical diagnosis of aortic stenosis is difficult in light of the high prevalence of systolic murmurs most of which are due to aortic sclerosis or clinically nonsignificant mitral regurgitation. The results are comparable with other reported studies.
ABSTRACT
Mortality and resyncope were investigated after five years in 111 patients with syncope, a prospective study conducted at the Reykjavik City Hospital 1985-1986. Twenty one (18.9%) patients have died in this interval, 90 living, 81 patients were traced and resyncope occurred among 20 (24.7%) due to the same cause in 14 of 20 patients. Four patients died in the group (11) that was originally diagnosed with CVD disease (36.4% p<0.001) compared to expected mortality corrected for age, similar results were found in the group (22) with orthostatic hypotension as the cause of syncope. In the total group 21 died versus four expected (p<0.001). This confirms previous results by other investigators that mortality is high among this group of patients. In repeated study 1988-1989 we found that near syncope was frequently cardiovascular in origin and was a cause in 28% of patients, and orthostatic hypotension 20%. A syncope or near syncope should be investigated thoroughly to arrive at a diagnosis, especially in elderly people.
ABSTRACT
A number of 2203 middle-aged Icelandic men (aged 34-61 years) participated in a health survey in Reykjavik in 1967-68. Blood glucose in the fasting state and during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) showed a unimodal distribution with a slight skewness towards higher values. A positive age gradient was established, which showed an increment of about 7 mg/dl per decade in capillary blood sugar values at 11/2 hours after a 50 g oral glucose load. The age gradient was mostly independent of age-related changes in body weight. A 71/2 year followup of the eligible participants (response rate 80%) showed an overall 1% incidence of metabolic deterioration to "overt diabetes" during this period. Those with positive screening tests (50 g OFTT) at baseline were at greater risk of developing diabetes, but the incidence of deterioration in this group was low, about 1% per year. The progression to diabetes was significantly related to body weight at baseline, suggesting that weight reduction might be beneficial in individuals showing impaired glucose tolerance at medical examination. This study, however, lends support to recent reports showing that mildly impaired glucose tolerance cannot be equated with early diabetes.