Relation Between Frailty and 1-Year Outcomes After Implantation of a Left Ventricular Assist Device

Frailty has been associated with morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure and those who underwent cardiac surgery. We aimed to study the effect of frailty on cardiovascular outcomes and the reversibility of frailty after the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. A total of 51 consecutive patients (44 men; aged 54 ± 10 years) scheduled to undergo LVAD implantation were assessed for frailty (Fried's phenotype, frail ≥3/5), cognitive function (using Mini-Cog), and depression (utilizing Patient Health Questionnaire-9) before the surgery and 3 months afterward. Patients were observed for mortality and adverse events [all-cause readmission, bleeding, renal dysfunction, and ventricular fibrillation (VF)/sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT)] for 12 months. More than half of the patients (54%) were designated as frail. Although there was no statistical difference in mortality among frail and nonfrail patients, frail ones were more likely to have a prolonged length of stay [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 14.9, 95% confidence interval 1.6 to 132.5, p = 0.01]. At the 3-month reassessment after operation, frailty and cognition rates were better (frailty score [lower is better]: 3 vs 1.5, p <0.0001; cognition score [higher is better]: 4.5 vs 5, p = 0.001), and patients had less depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score [lower is better]: 8 vs 4, p <0.0001). Of the secondary outcomes, only postoperative VF/sustained VT reached statistical significance in being more common among frail patients than nonfrail ones (p = 0.02). Although frailty was not associated with mortality at 1 year, prolonged length of stay occurred more with frail LVAD patients. Frailty status, cognitive function, and depressive mood all improved in most patients after LVAD.