Letter

Catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmias

BMJ 2001; 322 doi: 10.1136/bmj.322.7286.613/a (Published 10 March 2001)
Cite this as: BMJ 2001;322:613.2

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Ablation should not be denied to elderly patients on basis of age

  1. David Bourne (davidr.bourne@doctors.org.uk), specialist registrar geriatric medicine
  1. Department of Elderly Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester M13 9WL
  2. Department of Cardiology, St Mary's Hospital and Imperial College School of Medicine, London W2 1NY

    EDITOR—Peters in his editorial fails to justify his conclusion that older patients with longstanding atrial fibrillation can be managed by controlling their ventricular rate and by giving them anticoagulation treatment without need for input from a specialist.1 Elderly people are underrepresented in clinical trials of cardiovascular disease and are less likely to have appropriate cardiological investigations. 2 3

    The reason for valuing the life of younger patients over that of older ones is not made explicit. Harris argues that …

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