Heart disease survivors age as well as healthy peers, study finds
Adults who survived moderate to severe congenital heart disease show no greater cognitive decline or physical frailty than people their age without the condition, according to new research. The finding suggests that advances in cardiac care over recent decades have successfully extended not just lifespan but also quality of life for this growing patient population—reshaping expectations for long-term care costs and intervention strategies.
Originaltitel: Frailty and Cognitive Function After the Age of 40 in Adults With Moderate or Severe Congenital Heart Disease
Background: Decades of progress in care and treatment for congenital heart disease (CHD) has gradually shifted the research focus from initial survival to long-term prognosis and the ageing of adults with CHD. Knowledge about the ageing adult with CHD will guide interventions to safeguard the quality of life across the life course. The present study compares the prevalence of frailty and cognitive dysfunction between adults with CHD and a control group. Methods: Using a multicentre design, we compared adults with moderate or complex CHD aged ≥40 years, equally distributed across the age groups 40-49, 50-59, and >60 years, with age- and sex-matched controls. We assessed frailty phenotypes using the Fried method and cognitive dysfunction using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool. Results: In total, 156 adults with CHD (56.0 ± 10.4 years, 54.4% male) and 86 controls (55.6 ± 11.2 years, 55.8% male) were included in the study. Adults with CHD and controls did not differ in terms of mean score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (mean score 27.1 vs 26.9, P = 0.59). Similarly, there was no statistical difference in the prevalence of prefrailty/frailty between adults with CHD and controls (36.5% vs 29.0%, P = 0.26). Conclusions: Prevalence rates of cognitive dysfunction and frailty were similar between adults with CHD and age-matched controls. As more patients, particularly those with complex heart lesions, reach older ages, the prevalence of cognitive impairment and frailty may change.