[Coronary angiography after the age of 70 years].

100 patients over the age of 70 years underwent coronary angiography. The indications for this examination at this age were different from those in younger patients. After the age of 70 years, 58 per cent of coronary angiographies are performed as part of the haemodynamic survey of valvular disease. The risk of the examination appears to be higher, as two deaths occurred in this small series, while the mortality is estimated to be 2 per thousand in younger patients. Coronary angiography is very useful at this age in patients with valvular disease to determine the need for an associated coronary graft and also to determine contraindications for operation because of the severity of the lesions. A surgical indication was confirmed in 50 patients, but surgery was only performed in 36 of them. The follow-up of these patients demonstrates that patients operated for valvular disease had a longer survival that those considered to be inoperable or who refused operation. On the other hand, there was no difference in survival between grafted and non-operated patients over the age of 70 years.