In elderly with cardiovascular disease over 65 years of age the relationship between frequency of frailty and quality of life

Abstract

This study aim was designed as an analytical cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of frailty in patients aged 65 years and older with cardiovascular disease and to investigate its relationship with quality of life. The population consisted of a State Hospital Cardiology patients, and the sample consisted of 255 patients, who were calculated according to the incidence of the event (frequency of frailty) (25%) at the 95% confidence interval. Data were collected face to face by interview method between 25.07.2019-01.04.2020. In this study, frailty was observed in 30.9% of cardiovascular patients aged 65 and older. Frailty is mostly seen in illiterate people, women, single people, those who state that their income does not meet their expenses, and those who live alone, and there is a statistically significant difference between them (p≤ 0.05). A statistically significant relationship was found between frailty and factors such as the number of comorbidities, fall history in the past year, frequency of hospitalizations, and the number of medications taken within the last year in patients with cardiovascular disease. This study identified a negative correlation between the total score of the quality of life scale, its sub-dimension scores, and frailty (r=-0.414:p=0.000). Additionally, it was observed that patients with cardiovascular frailty experience a lower quality of life. In our study the frequency of frailty due to sociocultural factors is high in elderly individuals living alone with cardiovascular disease.