Frailty in Older Adults Undergoing Aortic Valve Replacement: The FRAILTY-AVR Study

J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017 Aug 8;70(6):689-700. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2017.06.024. Epub 2017 Jul 7.

Abstract

Background: Frailty is a geriatric syndrome that diminishes the potential for functional recovery after a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) procedure; however, its integration in clinical practice has been limited by a lack of consensus on how to measure it.

Objectives: This study sought to compare the incremental predictive value of 7 different frailty scales to predict poor outcomes following TAVR or SAVR.

Methods: A prospective cohort of older adults undergoing TAVR or SAVR was assembled at 14 centers in 3 countries from 2012 to 2016. The following frailty scales were compared: Fried, Fried+, Rockwood, Short Physical Performance Battery, Bern, Columbia, and the Essential Frailty Toolset (EFT). Outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality and disability 1 year after the procedure.

Results: The cohort was composed of 1,020 patients with a median age of 82 years. Depending on the scale used, the prevalence of frailty ranged from 26% to 68%. Frailty as measured by the EFT was the strongest predictor of death at 1 year (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 3.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.54 to 5.45) with a C-statistic improvement of 0.071 (p < 0.001) and integrated discrimination improvement of 0.067 (p < 0.001). Moreover, the EFT was the strongest predictor of worsening disability at 1 year (adjusted OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.57 to 2.87) and death at 30 days (adjusted OR: 3.29; 95% CI: 1.73 to 6.26).

Conclusions: Frailty is a risk factor for death and disability following TAVR and SAVR. A brief 4-item scale encompassing lower-extremity weakness, cognitive impairment, anemia, and hypoalbuminemia outperformed other frailty scales and is recommended for use in this setting. (Frailty Assessment Before Cardiac Surgery & Transcatheter Interventions; NCT01845207).

Keywords: aortic stenosis; disability; frailty; outcomes; surgical aortic valve replacement; survival; transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aortic Valve / surgery*
  • Aortic Valve Stenosis / mortality
  • Aortic Valve Stenosis / surgery*
  • Canada / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Frail Elderly*
  • France / epidemiology
  • Heart Valve Prosthesis*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Odds Ratio
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment*
  • Risk Factors
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Survival Rate / trends
  • Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement / methods*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • United States / epidemiology

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01845207