Abstract
Cardiovascular events of atherosclerotic origin most often affect older people. In elderly patients however, in addition to advanced and complex changes in the cardiovascular system, we are facing further long-term illnesses and additionally the consequences of their treatment.
Older patients also experience different responses to treatment due to different pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics; these patients also take other drugs that could adversely interact with our treatment. The situation is further complicated by the generally worse cooperation because of impaired cognitive abilities in seniors.
On the one hand, elderly patients with high cardiovascular risk benefit from the appropriate treatment most; on the other hand, they are often more sensitive to adverse effects of some drugs. However, appropriate treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases can also improve substantially overall condition of the patient and thus reduce his or her frailty.
Among the most successful drugs in this respect are hypolipemic drugs, statins, and some antihypertensive drugs. Even in advanced age, the course of many illnesses could be also significantly affected by appropriate lifestyle measures.
We have tried to discuss this topic in more detail in this article.