Elderly Patients Receive Less Aggressive Medical and Invasive Management of Unstable Angina

Abstract
IN 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) released a guideline1 on the diagnosis and management of unstable angina, a diagnosis that leads to more than 650000 hospitalizations per year in the United States.2 Although there has been assessment of the quality of care for Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction,3 no similar analysis has been reported for patients with unstable angina. Elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction are less likely to receive therapies that reduce mortality, including aspirin3-6 and β-blockers.3,7,8 Elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction are also less likely to receive heparin4 and to undergo invasive procedures.4,9

This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit: