journal articles
LONG-TERM IMPACT OF FRAILTY ON MORTALITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN MECHANICALLY VENTILATED ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION PATIENTS UNDERGOING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION
Sadaf Shaikh, Muhammad Sohaib Arif, Madiha Masroor, Ahras Adeeb Ansari, Muhammad Imran Ansari, Aziz Ur Rehman Memon, Musa Karim, Jawed Abubaker
J Aging Res & Lifestyle 2026;15
BACKGROUND: Frailty is a recognized predictor of adverse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but its long-term association with mortality and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains uncertain. This study evaluated the three-year association between discharge frailty and subsequent frailty, mortality, and HRQoL in post-PCI patients.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who underwent PCI, required ICU/CICU admission with mechanical ventilation and/or advanced life support, and remained alive at routine 6-month follow-up. Frailty was assessed at discharge and reassessed after three years. HRQoL was assessed using the EQ-5D-3 L descriptive system and summarised using a study-specific level-sum impairment score; this was not a preference-weighted EQ-5D utility index.
RESULTS: Among 164 patients, 131 (79.9%) were frail at discharge. During three-year follow-up, 51 patients (31.1%) died. Crude mortality did not differ significantly between frail and non-frail patients (32.1%vs. 27.3%; p = 0.595). In adjusted logistic regression, moderate-to-severe discharge frailty was independently associated with death during the follow-up interval (adjusted OR 2.55; 95% CI 1.06–6.11; p = 0.036). Among survivors, 43 (38.1%) remained frail at follow-up. Moderate-to-severe discharge frailty was associated with moderate-to-severe frailty at three-year follow-up (adjusted OR 12.75; 95% CI 1.84–88.35; p = 0.010), although the wide confidence interval indicates limited precision and supports an exploratory interpretation. Poor HRQoL, defined as an EQ-5D-3 L level-sum score ≥8, was present in 33 survivors. Neither age >60 years (adjusted OR 1.56; 95% CI 0.44–5.53; p = 0.492) nor discharge frailty was independently associated with poor HRQoL.
CONCLUSION: Among mechanically ventilated AMI patients undergoing PCI who survived to routine 6-month follow-up, moderate-to-severe frailty at hospital discharge was independently associated with death during the three-year follow-up interval. It was also associated with moderate-to-severe frailty at follow-up, although this estimate was imprecise and should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating. Discharge frailty was not independently associated with poor long-term HRQoL.
CITATION:
Sadaf Shaikh ; Muhammad Sohaib Arif ; Madiha Masroor ; Ahras Adeeb Ansari ; Muhammad Imran Ansari ; Aziz Ur Rehman Memon ; Musa Karim ; Jawed Abubaker (2026): Long-term impact of frailty on mortality and quality of life in mechanically ventilated acute myocardial infarction patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. The Journal of Aging and Lifestyle (JARLife). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarlif.2026.100082