Trial of Time: Review of Frailty and Cardiovascular Disease

Frailty has become more frequently recognized as an indicator of predisability. It has been shown to have an association with cardiovascular disease (CVD), just as CVD has an association with frailty, and is a predictor of hospitalization and mortality. The ability to identify this population provides a measure to more accurately assess risk and prognosis which can help the early detection of disease and dictate intervention. This has become even more critical over time with the advent of various therapeutic interventions that are geared toward patients who are poor candidates for aggressive surgical measures, such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The American Heart Association has called for a better understanding of frailty as it relates to CVD in the elderly.