INTRODUCTION
Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a serious and lethal cardiovascular event, and surgical repair is essential to help these patients.1 Old age is a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in cardiovascular surgery,2 and according to the data of The International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD), age ≥70 years is a significant predictor of in-hospital surgical mortality in ATAAD.3 In contrast, it has been reported that octogenarian patients showed satisfactory surgical outcomes and survival rates, which suggests a confident approach toward emergency repair in elderly patients.4 Physical activities are important prognostic factors for late mortality in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease.5 Cassiatore et al reported that walking ability is strongly related to mortality and morbidity in elderly patients after cardiac coronary artery bypass grafting.6 However, there are few studies that investigated the rehabilitation outcomes and postoperative physical activities for ATAAD in elderly patients.7, 8 The specific types and intensities of rehabilitation that may be both safe and beneficial postoperatively for patients who underwent ATAAD is still controversial.7
We report our experience with ATAAD surgery in patients aged ≧70. The outcomes of our rehabilitation program based on walking exercise and the surgical outcomes of ATAAD repair in these patients were compared with those in patients aged <70 years. We also assessed how postoperative physical activities impact late mortality in the patients with ATAAD.