Participants
Kieran Gill
We focused on older adults (75 years of age or older) admitted to hospital with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). This is the most common type of heart attack in older adults. Older adults are less likely to receive an invasive treatment to unblock the heart arteries compared to younger adults. It is unclear whether normal cognitive function should guide whether older adults receive an invasive treatment strategy to unblock the heart arteries, or a conservative strategy of medications alone.
We utilised data from the SENIOR-RITA trial, which recruited 1518 patients with NSTEMI from 48 NHS hospitals. Among 546 patients with normal cognition, we discovered that an invasive treatment strategy did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, or future heart attacks, compared to a strategy of medications alone. Therefore, a strategy of medications alone may be reasonable for older adults with NSTEMI and normal cognition.