Heart Failure in Elderly People: From Pathophysiology to Diagnosis and Management

Abstract

As the older population increases, there is an increase in age-related chronic diseases, especially heart failure. It affects 25% of over 75-year-old outpatients and represents the leading cause of hospitalization and death in older people. This review aimed to point out the main characteristics concerning heart failure in older people, taking into account clinical symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. An extensive search on heart failure was made on PubMed and Google, using the keywords older people, heart failure, epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical symptoms, and pharmacological approach. Our results underline how heart failure in older patients is a complex and multifaceted reality that requires a multidimensional assessment to frame the patient correctly, resolve the acute episode, and set a targeted therapeutic, pharmacological, and non-pharmacological approach, without neglecting the psychogeriatric aspect. The latter must be aimed at reducing the relapse rate and preserving functional autonomy and quality of life, decreasing the rate of re-hospitalization and institutionalization, the length of hospitalization, and improving predictive outcomes.