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Review
. 2015 Mar 2;8(Suppl 1):87-92.
doi: 10.4137/CMC.S15720. eCollection 2014.

The biologic syndrome of frailty in heart failure

Rita Jermyn  1 , Snehal Patel  1
Affiliations
Review

The biologic syndrome of frailty in heart failure

Rita Jermyn et al. Clin Med Insights Cardiol. .

Abstract

As we continue to care for an older and sicker end-stage heart failure population, it has become challenging to evaluate patients based on current risk scores that mainly focus on subjective symptoms and patient disability. For generations, geriatricians have sought to identify the body's underlying vulnerabilities that characterize frailty. More recently, cardiologists have begun to recognize this entity in their own practice. Several studies have suggested rates of frailty as high as 50% in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, despite recognizing frailty, it remains difficult to define. Like heart failure, frailty is a biologic syndrome that affects multiple organ systems. Measures of frailty are shown to strongly correlate with adverse outcomes in the health care system.

Keywords: disability; frailty; heart failure.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overlap of disability, comorbidity and frailty. Reproduced with permission from Fried LP et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001;56:M146–57.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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