Abstract
Echocardiography is a non-invasive test that enables morphological and functional diagnoses of the heart. Our department performs echocardiography as a preoperative test for elderly individuals aged ≥65 years receiving general anesthesia and offers examinations by cardiologists. The results and effectiveness of echocardiography for elderly patients are reported. The subjects were a total of 115 cases of elderly individuals aged ≥ 65 years who underwent preoperative echocardiography followed by oral surgery under general anesthesia at our department during the past three years (2009〜2011). In 31 cases (27%), no abnormalities were found. In 44 cases (38%), abnormalities such as valvular sclerosis and mild regurgitation were observed, but these findings were not significant. In 40 cases (35%), significant abnormalities, such as valve stenosis, valvular regurgitation, and wall motion abnormalities, were found. Among the 40 cases of significant abnormalities, the presence of abnormalities on echocardiography could be predicted based on history taking prior to the test and other methods in only 10 cases. Significant abnormalities were observed in 10 of the 40 cases with no history of cardiovascular disease. In addition, significant abnormalities were observed in 10 of the 40 cases with no abnormalities on electrocardiography. Vegetation was suspected in one case. For this patient, elective surgery was postponed, and detailed examination was performed. Echocardiography may be a useful, and even essential, preoperative test for elderly patients because it enables screening of heart diseases that cannot be detected based on history taking or electrocardiography alone.
