[Hemodynamic study at the bedside of patients with acute myocardial infarction over 60 years of age]. / Estudo hemodinâmico à beira do leito em portadores de infarto agudo do miocárdio com mais de 60 anos de idade.

ABSTRACT

Aiming to study the hemodynamic behavior of the aged during the first 36 hours after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 41 patients of at least 60 years at age (63.3 +/- 3) were submitted to a bedside hemodynamic study, through a Swan-Ganz catheter. The results obtained for the different variables (right atrial pressure, right ventricular pressure, pulmonary-arterial pressure, pulmonary-capillary, cardiac index, systolic index, left and right ventricular performance, and systemic pulmonary-arterial resistance) were compared to those of 39 individuals with age less than 60 years (49.6 +/- 1.5). It was also considered the electrocardiographic localization of the infarcted area. Eventual differences in the distribution of frequency of the individuals were also investigated, considering the four clinical-hemodynamic groups proposed by Forrester. Upon separate analysis of the hemodynamic variables, the results did not reveal significant differences between the younger and the older. However, by Forrester's classification, it was observed a significantly higher number of aged patients in group III (hypovolemic). Therefore, there was a tendency in the aged to present hypovolemia during the first 36 hours after myocardial infarction. The difficulties to recognize this status clinically and its prognostic importance justify the performance of hemodynamic bedside study in elderly with acute myocardial infarction with hemodynamic instability.