CAMBRIDGE, England, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Doctors should not shy away from giving heart bypass surgery to those over the age of 80, say British and Canadian researchers.
It is a misconception that octogenarians are unlikely to survive long enough for the surgery to be of benefit, said lead researcher and heart surgeon Dr. Samer Nashef, of Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England.
The octogenarians had half the risk of death as their younger peers,
despite the elderly patients being far more likely to undergo emergency surgery than younger patients, reported the BBC Thursday.
The study involved 12,461 patients, 706 over 80 at the time of surgery.
"I think the main reason is that when people are in their 80s and are known to have a heart problem that could benefit from surgery, the doctors looking after them are going to be a bit reluctant to send them for an operation because they think when they are old they might not survive," said Nashef. "But 80 year olds can live a long time. And emergency operations do less well."
The findings are published in the journal Heart.
