Heart failure in the "oldest old": clinical and echocardiographic insights.

While the incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF) increase markedly with age, few studies have included data on a large series of patients aged 85 years and older. Clinical and echocardiographic data from 533 patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital for acute HF were obtained. Data from the oldest old (>or=85 years; n=252; mean age, 91.9+/-3.6 years) were compared with data from those aged 65 to 74 years (n=123; mean age, 70.1+/-2.8 years) and 75 to 84 years (n=158; mean age, 79.4+/-2.9 years). Echocardiographic data were consistent with hypertensive remodeling. The proportion of patients with HF and a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction was greatest in the oldest patients (61%) in comparison to patients aged 65 to 74 years (48%) and 75 to 84 years (48%). Approximately three-fourths of the oldest patients were women, and two-thirds of women had a left ventricular ejection fraction >or=50%.