title: Frailty syndrome in patients with heart rhythm disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of frailty syndrome in patients with heart rhythm disorders that qualified for pacemaker implantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 171 patients (83 women, aged 73.9 ± 6.7 years) who qualified for pacemaker implantation as a result of sinus node dysfunction (81 patients) or atrio-ventricular blocks (AVB; 90 patients). A total of 60 patients (25 women, aged 72.40 ± 7.09 years) without heart rhythm disorders were included in the control group. Frailty syndrome was diagnosed using the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Frailty syndrome was diagnosed in 25.15% of the patients, and pre-frailty in 36.84% of the patients. Frailty syndrome was diagnosed in 10% of the control group, and the average value of frailty was 3.35 ± 0.92. Frailty occurred significantly more often among patients with AVB (33.34%) compared with patients who were diagnosed with sinus node dysfunction (16.05%); P = 0.0081. The average score of frailty for sinus node dysfunction was 3.71 ± 0.89, and for AVB it was 4.14 ± 0.93; P = 0.0152. In the case of AVB, the women had a statistically more intense level of frailty of 4.54 ± 0.90 as compared with the men 3.87 ± 0.85; P = 0.0294. In the multiple logistic analysis, the presence of any arrhythmia was strongly associated with frailty syndrome (OR 2.1286, 95% CI 1.4594 - 3.1049; P = 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frailty syndrome was diagnosed in one-quarter of patients with cardiac arrhythmias, whereas a further 40% were at a higher risk of frailty syndrome, and its occurrence was significantly higher if compared with the control group. Frailty occurred significantly more often among patients with atrio-ventricular blocks, especially in women. The results of the present research showed that there is a statistical association between frailty and arrhythmias. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1313-1318.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Nursing, Chair of Internal Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.|Department of Electrocardiology, Upper Silesian Heart Center, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mlynarska
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrocardiology, Upper Silesian Heart Center, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Rafal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mlynarski
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrocardiology, Upper Silesian Heart Center, Katowice, Poland.|Department of Electrocardiology and Heart Failure, School of Health Sciences, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Krzysztof S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Golba
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D054537:Atrioventricular Block / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D000073496:Frailty / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012804:Sick Sinus Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D013577:Syndrome
keywords: atrio-ventricular blocks; cardiac arrhythmia; frailty; sinus node dysfunction