IMR Press / RCM / Volume 22 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm.2021.01.222
Open Access Review
Implantable cardiac devices in geriatric patients: a primer for primary and geriatric physicians
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1 Department of Family Medicine, Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, NY 13601, USA
2 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
3 Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
4 Department of Internal Medicine, Central Michigan University, Saginaw, Mi 48602, USA
5 Department of Internal Medicine, Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, PA 18840, USA
6 Department of Cardiology and Electrophysiology, McLaren Greater Lansing, Lansing, MI 48910, USA
*Correspondence: albos1ms@cmich.edu (Michael Albosta)
Academic Editor: Peter A. McCullough
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2021, 22(1), 39–50; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm.2021.01.222
Submitted: 19 October 2020 | Revised: 3 December 2020 | Accepted: 8 December 2020 | Published: 30 March 2021
Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

In the next 20 years, the percentage of people older than 65 years of age in the United States is expected to double. Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in developed nations, including the United States. Due to the increased incidence of cardiac disease in elderly patients, the need for special treatment considerations, including cardiac devices, may be necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality in this patient population. The purpose of this review is to provide a primer of the common cardiac devices used in the management of cardiac disorders in the geriatric patient population. In order to do this, we have performed a literature review for articles related to cardiac devices published between 2000 and 2020, in addition to reviewing guidelines and recommendations from relevant professional societies. We provide readers with an overview of several cardiac devices including implantable loop recorders, pacemakers, cardiac resynchronization therapy, automated implantable cardiac defibrillators, watchman devices, and ventricular assist devices. Indications, contraindications, clinical trial data, and general considerations in the geriatric population were included. Due to the aging population and increased incidence of cardiac disease, clinicians should be aware of the indications and contraindications of cardiac device therapy in the management of various cardiac conditions that afflict the geriatric population.

Keywords
Geriatrics
Cardiology
Cardiac devices
Heart disease
Therapeutics
Primary care
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