Women are More Likely to be Physically Frail Compared with Men in Heart Failure

Introduction Physical frailty is highly prevalent in heart failure (HF); however, little is known about the role of age, gender, ejection fraction phenotype (HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) vs. HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)), and HF etiology (ischemic vs. non-ischemic) in explaining physical frailty in HF. Hypothesis There is a higher prevalence of physical frailty in adults with HF who are ≥ 65 years, are women, have HFpEF, and have non-ischemic HF etiology. Methods This was an analysis of data collected from a study of adults with HF. Physical frailty was measured with the Frailty Phenotype Criteria: unintentional weight loss, weakness, slowness, physical exhaustion, and low physical activity. Physical frailty was determined by the number of criteria met; those who met 0-2 criteria were not physically frail, and those who met 3-5 were considered physically frail. Comparative statistics were used to compare prevalence of physical frailty between adults ≥ 65 years vs. Results The average age of the sample (n = 65) was 62.0±16.6 years, and 35.3% were female. A majority (84.6%) had HFrEF, and most (76.9%) had non-ischemic etiology. Physical frailty was identified in 43% of the sample. Adults ≥ 65 years were more likely to be physically frail than those Conclusions In HF, women have higher rates of physical frailty compared with men, irrespective of age, ejection fraction phenotype, and etiology, indicating that women with HF may be at increased risk for poor outcomes related to physical frailty.