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Background: Heart failure (HF) is a chronic condition with poor prognosis, and has a high prevalence among older adults. Due to older age, fragility is often present among HF patients. However, even young HF patients show a high degree of fragility. The effect of fragility on long-term prognosis in HF patients, irrespective of age, remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of fragility on long-term prognosis in outpatients with HF., Methods and Results: At least one abnormal evaluation among four standardized geriatric scales was used to identify fragility. Predefined criteria for such scales were: Barthel Index, <90; OARS scale, <10 in women and <6 in men; Pfeiffer Test, >3 (± 1, depending on educational grade); and ≥ 1 positive response for depression on the abbreviated Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). We assessed 1314 consecutive HF outpatients (27.8% women, mean age years 66.7 ± 12.4 years with different etiologies. Fragility was detected in 581 (44.2%) patients. 626 deaths occurred during follow-up; the median follow-up was 3.6 years [P25-P75: 1.8-6.7] for the total cohort, and 4.9 years [P25-P75: 2.5-8.4] for living patients. Fragility and its components were significantly associated with decreased survival by univariate analysis. In a comprehensive multivariable Cox regression analysis, fragility remained independently associated with survival in the entire cohort, and in age and left ventricular ejection fraction subgroups., Conclusion: Fragility is a key determinant of survival in ambulatory patients with HF across all age strata., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study was designed to assess whether depression and the use of antidepressants were related to long-term mortality in heart failure., Methods: Heart failure outpatients (n=1017) from a specialized tertiary unit in Spain were prospectively studied for a median follow-up of 5.4 years (IQR 3.1-8.1). Depressive symptoms were assessed using an abbreviated version of the geriatric depression scale. Survival rates during the study period (August 2001 until December 2010) and hazard ratios (HR) for mortality were adjusted by several demographic and clinical variables., Results: Depressive symptoms were detected in 302 patients (29.7%) at baseline and 222 (21.8%) de novo during follow-up; 304 patients (29.9%) received at least one prescription of antidepressants, mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (92.8%); 441 patients (43.4%) died. In a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model, depression was associated with an increased all-cause (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.15-1.68), but not cardiovascular, mortality risk after adjustment for several demographic and clinical confounders. The use of any antidepressant was not independently associated with mortality (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.71-1.13), but benzodiazepines showed a protective role (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.57-0.87). On the contrary, fluoxetine prescriptions, but not duration of fluoxetine treatment, were associated with increased mortality (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.13-2.44)., Conclusions: Depressive symptoms are associated with long-term mortality, but the use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines is safe regarding survival in HF patients, although further research is needed considering individual antidepressants separately., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)