Management and Outcomes of Patients Admitted to Coronary Care Units, Depending on Degree of Frailty and Comorbidities

Background Patients less than 80 years of age, who suffer a myocardial infarction (MI) are usually (\>90%) offered an early invasive strategy including coronary angiography possibly followed by intervention, preferably percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Among non ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients, 80 years of age or over, only approximately 40% receive an invasive approach in Sweden, since the majority are handled in a conservative way, i.e. with medical treatment only. Furthermore, as with pharmacological treatment, there is a large variation between Swedish counties regarding the choice of strategy for the treatment of elderly (80+) patients with NSTEMI with an even larger variation between acute hospitals ranging from 20% to 90 %. The Swedish national guidelines for heart disease have emphasized that the patient's biological age, i.e. the patient's biological status and expected length of life, is crucial for decision-making. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a global clinical measure of biological age, mixing co-morbidity, disability and cognitive impairment. The investigators have previously reported the potential importance of frailty for short-term (1 month) and medium-term outcome (1 year) in a NSTEMI population. However, published data on the role of frailty´s prognostic value, its capacity to predict adverse effects including complications, and the potential to guide clinical decision-making for elderly patients with myocardial infarction are scarce. Similarly, there is a lack of knowledge of how different patterns of comorbidity burden might influence rational decision-making. Aims To explore the association between frailty and treatment patterns in cardiac care To study the association between outcomes and degree of frailty, with and without comprehensive adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics. To study how treatment benefits for patients admitted to coronary care units differ in patients depending on comorb