Fitness-Tracker Assisted Frailty-Assessment Before Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Proof-of-Concept Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Geriatrics
• Digital Health

Background:

• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a key treatment for aortic valve stenosis.
• Wearable health-monitoring devices are increasingly used in patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, economical method for preprocedural frailty assessment using wearable device data.
• To evaluate the predictive power of this new score for hospital mortality.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study of 50 TAVR patients using a wrist-worn device for 1 week pre-procedure.
• Measured parameters included step count, heart rate, and stress levels.
• Developed the FItness-tracker assisted Frailty-Assessment Score (FIFA score) and compared it to gait speed and Edmonton Frail Scale.

Main Results:

• Preprocedural stress and heart rate parameters predicted hospital mortality.
• The FIFA score showed superior predictive power for hospital mortality (AUC 0.844) compared to gait speed (AUC 0.671) and Edmonton Frail Scale (AUC 0.636).

Conclusions:

• The FIFA score, derived from wearable data, demonstrates strong predictive performance for hospital mortality.
• This novel approach offers a promising alternative to conventional frailty assessments in TAVR patients.