Frailty and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Geriatrics
• Clinical Outcomes

Background:

• Frailty negatively impacts cardiovascular care and resource utilization.
• Understanding frailty's role in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is essential for optimizing patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of frailty on PCI outcomes in a large patient cohort.
• To evaluate frailty as a predictor of mortality and adverse events post-PCI.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 5297 patients undergoing PCI (2018-2024).
• Patients stratified by frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS).
• Adjusted analyses using multivariable logistic regression and IPTW to assess outcomes.

Main Results:

• Frail patients (CFS 5-9) comprised 24.3% of the cohort and had higher mortality.
• Adjusted in-hospital mortality was 2.1% in frail vs. 0.3% in non-frail patients (p<0.001).
• Frail patients experienced higher rates of stroke, acute kidney injury, and 1-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Conclusions:

• Frailty is an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality and long-term adverse events in PCI patients.
• Routine frailty assessment can improve risk stratification and guide management for PCI patients.
• These findings underscore the importance of considering frailty in cardiovascular care pathways.