Prognosis Impact of Frailty Assessed by the Edmonton Frail Scale in the Setting of Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Elderly.

BACKGROUND: Elderly patients represent a large proportion of patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Whether frailty-defined as a biological syndrome that reflects a state of decreased physiological reserve and vulnerability to stressors-may impact the clinical outcomes in this population remains unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of frailty and its impact on mortality in patients aged ≥ 80 years admitted for ACS.

METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted in patients aged 80 years or older admitted to a tertiary hospital for ACS. Frailty was assessed using the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS), which provides a score ranging from 0 (not frail) to 17 (very frail). The population was divided into 3 classes: EFS score 0-3, EFS score 4-6; and EFS score >7.

RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-six patients were included, with a mean follow-up duration of 470 days. The mean age was 85.9 years. Seventy-five patients died during the follow-up period. One hundred nineteen patients (50.4%) had an EFS score of 0-3, 68 patients (28.8%) had an EFS score of 4-6, and 49 patients (20.8%) had an EFS score ≥ 7. The all-cause mortality rate was 17.7% in the EFS 0-3 group, 35.3% in the EFS 4-6 group, and 61.2% in the EFS ≥ 7 group (P < 0.001). After multivariate analysis, frailty status remained associated with all-cause mortality: the hazard ratio (HR) was 1.53 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-3.16) in the EFS 4-6 group, and the HR was 3.60 (95% CI, 1.70-7.63) in the EFS ≥ 7 group.

CONCLUSIONS: Frailty is a strong and independent prognostic factor for midterm all-cause mortality in elderly patients presenting with ACS.