Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
Modification of the association between age and mortality in heart failure by frailty status
- Nationwide registry-based cohort study
- Danish nationwide registries
Authors' conclusion
Frailty alters mortality risk in HF beyond chronological age, resulting in prognostic heterogeneity regardless of age.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with new-onset heart failure (HF), Denmark, 2013–202224% <65, 41% 65–79, 35% ≥80 years
- Participants
- 79,193 patients
- Exposure
- Mortality and guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) use by age and frailty
- Outcome
- All-cause and CV mortality
- Follow-up
- Two years after HF diagnosis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Two-year all-cause mortality at comparable risk by frailty and age · two years
| Group | Value | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Low frailty | 22.1% (95% CI 21.4–22.8) | 80 years |
| Intermediate frailty | 22.8% (95% CI 21.9–23.8) | 70 years |
| High frailty | 22.8% (95% CI 18.0–28.4) | 47 |
- Frailty significantly modified the association between age and mortality
- interaction p<0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
CV mortality · two years
- Similar results as for all-cause mortality
GDMT use
- GDMT use lower in high than low frailty across all age groups
- Within each frailty group, age ≥80 years had lower odds of GDMT vs <65 (reference)
Original publication
Modification of the association between age and mortality in heart failure by frailty status. Eur J Heart Fail. Published 27 April 2026. doi:10.1093/ejhf/xuag137
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it