Introduction

Coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement, and percutaneous coronary interventions, including percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, are increasingly performed in elderly patients. However, indications, some precautions, as well as any functional outcomes for these procedures are different in elderly patients than in younger patients. In very elderly patients, the goal of surgery is to improve quality of life rather than to prolong life. Although almost all cardiac procedures (even myomectomy, transplantation, and tumor removal) can be performed in selected elderly patients, the morbidity is higher than that in younger patients.