Frailty, sarcopenia and cachexia in heart failure patients: Different clinical entities of the same painting

Abstract

Heart Failure (HF) in elderly patients is a systemic syndrome where advanced age, comorbidities with organ system deterioration, frailty and impaired cognition significantly impact outcome. Cardiac cachexia, sarcopenia and frailty despite overlap in definitions are different clinical entities that frequently coexist in HF patients. However, these co-factors often remain unaddressed, resulting in poor quality-of-life, prolonged physical disability and exercise intolerance and finally with higher rehospitalization rates and mortality. Strategy aim to increase muscle mass and muscle strength and delay the occurrence of frailty state appear essential in this regard. Common HF drugs therapy (b-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) and prescription of physical exercise program remain the cornerstone of therapeutic approach in HF patients with new promising data regarding nutritional supplementation. However, the treatment of all these conditions still remain debated and only a profound knowledge of the specific mechanisms and patterns of disease progression will allow to use the appropriate therapy in a given clinical setting. For all these reasons we briefly review current knowledge on frailty, sarcopenia and cachexia in HF patients with the attempt to define clinically significant degrees of multiorgan dysfunction, specific "red alert" thresholds in clinical practice and therapeutic approach.

Keywords: Cachexia; Comorbidities; Frailty; Heart failure; Sarcopenia; Terapheutic implication.

Figure 1

Pathophysiological mechanism and contributing factors leading to cachexia, sarcopenia and frailty in heart failure. HF: Heart failure.