Frailty and Bleeding in Older Adults Undergoing TAVR or SAVR: Insights From the FRAILTY-AVR Study

The aim of this study was to examine the value of frailty to predict in-hospital major bleeding and determine its impact on mid-term mortality following transcatheter (TAVR) or surgical (SAVR) aortic valve replacement. Bleeding complications are harbingers of mortality and major morbidity in patients undergoing TAVR or SAVR. Despite the high prevalence of frailty in this population, little is known about its effects on bleeding risk. A post hoc analysis was performed of the multinational FRAILTY-AVR (Frailty Aortic Valve Replacement) cohort study, which prospectively enrolled older adults ≥70 years of age undergoing TAVR or SAVR. Trained researchers assessed frailty using a questionnaire and physical performance battery pre-procedure and ascertained clinical data from the electronic health record. The primary endpoint was major or life-threatening bleeding during the index hospitalization, and the secondary endpoint was units of packed red blood cells transfused. The cohort consisted of 1,195 patients with a mean age of 81.3 ± 6.0 years. The incidence of life-threatening bleeding, major bleeding with a clinically apparent source, and major bleeding without a clinically apparent source was, respectively, 3%, 6%, and 9% in the TAVR group and 8%, 10%, and 31% in the SAVR group. Frailty measured using the Essential Frailty Toolset was an independent predictor of major bleeding and packed red blood cell transfusions in both groups. Major bleeding was associated with a 3-fold increase in 1-year mortality following TAVR (odds ratio: 3.40; 95% confidence interval: 2.22 to 5.21) and SAVR (odds ratio: 2.79; 95% confidence interval: 1.25 to 6.21). Frailty is associated with post-procedural major bleeding in older adults undergoing TAVR and SAVR, which is in turn associated with a higher risk for mid-term mortality.