Preventing cardiovascular disease in older adults: One size does not fit all

Abstract

Frailty and cardiovascular disease are highly interconnected and increase in prevalence with age. Identifying frailty allows for a personalized cardiovascular risk prescription and individualized management of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and lifestyle in the aging population. KEY POINTS With the aging of the population, individualized prevention strategies must incorporate geriatric syndromes such as frailty. However, current guidelines and available evidence for cardiovascular disease prevention strategies have not incorporated frailty or make no recommendation at all for those over age 75. Four-meter gait speed, a simple measure of physical function and a proxy for frailty, can be used clinically to diagnose frailty.