[Heart arrhythmias in advanced age].

Holter monitoring has revealed that bradycardiac and tachycardic arrhythmias are frequent in apparently healthy subjects aged over 75. Even in elderly patients with known cardiovascular disease, however, such arrhythmias usually do not correlate with the clinical symptoms giddiness, palpitations or syncope. For this reason, prior to possible therapeutic measures, an accurate investigation of the underlying cause and the demonstration of a causal relationship between documented arrhythmias and symptomatology is necessary. Account must be taken of the particular pharmacotherapeutic situation in old age, in which the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic properties of almost all drugs are modified.