Accumulation of Deficits as a Key Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality: A Pooled Analysis of 154 000 Individuals

Background Frailty is associated with higher mortality in individuals at high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We hypothesize that frailty is a more important prognostic factor than CVD risk factors and aim to determine the prognostic value of a cumulative deficit frailty index in patients with or at high risk for CVD. Methods and Results We conducted an individual-level pooled analysis of participants with or at risk for CVD, recruited in 14 …