Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20978470›Full record

ReviewNature reviews. Cardiology2011

Cardiovascular drug therapy in the elderly: benefits and challenges.

Jerome L Fleg, Wilbert S Aronow, William H Frishman

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews. Cardiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
70citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
7.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

70 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 181 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Guideline
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Beta-Blockers for the Treatment of Arrhythmias: Which Drug for Which Arrhythmia? A State-of-the-Art Narrative Review.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2026
    Review
  9. Metabolic Regulation of Cardiovascular Aging.Current cardiology reports · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Observational
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Chronic Coronary Disease in Older Adults.The Medical clinics of North America · 2024
    Review
  17. The βAdvances in pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences · 2024
    Review
  18. The Potential Mechanisms of Arrhythmia in Coronavirus disease-2019.International journal of medical sciences · 2024
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jerome L FlegDivision of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. flegj@nhlbi.nih.gov
Wilbert S Aronow
William H Frishman
New York Medical College · USNational Heart Lung and Blood Institute · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increasing life expectancy in industrialized societies has resulted in a huge population of older adults with cardiovascular disease. Despite advances in device therapy and surgery, the mainstay of treatment for these disorders remains pharmacological. Hypertension affects two-thirds of older adults and remains a potent risk factor for coronary artery disease, chronic heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke in this age group. Numerous trials have demonstrated reduction in these adverse outcomes with antihypertensive drugs. After acute myocardial infarction, β-adrenergic blockers reduce mortality regardless of patient age. Statins and antiplatelet drugs have proven beneficial in both primary and, especially, secondary prevention of coronary events in older adults. In elders with chronic heart failure, loop diuretics must be used cautiously, owing to their higher potential for adverse effects, whereas angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors and β-blockers reduce symptoms and prolong survival. The high risk of stroke in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation is markedly reduced with warfarin, although bleeding risk is increased. The high prevalence of polypharmacy among older adults with cardiovascular disease, coupled with age-associated physiological changes and comorbidities, provides major challenges in adherence and avoidance of drug-related adverse events.

Indexed as

AgingAgedAge FactorsCardiovascular AgentsCardiovascular DiseasesEvidence-Based MedicineFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPatient SelectionRisk AssessmentTreatment OutcomeCardiovascular Agents

Identifiers

PMID20978470
OpenAlexW2090975042

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.