There is a vital need for evidence-based clinical evaluation tools to assess operative risk and post-operative recovery in the elderly, including biomarkers of physiologic age and a simple/reliable clinical evaluation scheme to determine frailty as a risk factor for poor surgical outcomes.

While transplant for patients 60 and older for high-risk hematologic malignancies has increased and observational data are promising, the risks and benefits of translant versus non-transplant remain largely unknown. We now have the tools and mechanisms to remove the blindfold!

The NHLBI should support the cooperative groups in conjunction with the BMT-CTN to establish a common framework for transplant trials in older... more »

Improving Tools for Anticoagulation Decision-Making

Older patients have been largely under represented in the landmark clinical trials that have established the beneficial effects of ICD therapy on survival. With older age, comorbidities increase leading to a higher incidence of non-cardiac mortality. This is supported by very well documented decrease in the incidence of appropriate defibrillator shocks.
Based on the above, it is important to know whether defibrillator... more »