# Frailty Impact on Periprocedural Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

## TL;DR

Frail patients undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation face significantly higher risks of complications and mortality compared to less frail patients, even after adjusting for age and other health factors.

## Contribution

This study quantifies the specific acute complication risks associated with frailty levels in AF ablation patients, using a national inpatient cohort and the Hospital Frailty Risk Score.

## Key findings

- High-frailty patients had 6.1% in-hospital mortality compared to 1.0% in low-frailty patients.
- Frailty was an independent predictor of complications, with high-frailty patients having over four-fold higher odds of mortality and five-fold higher odds of stroke.
- Rates of respiratory failure, sepsis, and acute dialysis were significantly higher in high-frailty patients.

## Abstract

Background: Frail patients undergoing AF ablation face elevated periprocedural risks. However, prior studies often examined composite or long-term outcomes and did not stratify acute complication risks by frailty severity. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of frailty, measured by the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) on in-hospital outcomes after AF ablation, and to delineate the risk of specific acute complications across frailty levels. Methods: We analyzed a national inpatient cohort of AF ablation hospitalizations (2016–2021). Patients were stratified into low-, intermediate-, and high-frailty groups by HFRS. In-hospital mortality and major complications (stroke, respiratory failure, sepsis, acute dialysis, cardiac arrest, cardiogenic shock) were compared across frailty groups, and multivariable logistic regression identified independent predictors of these outcomes. Results: Among an estimated 42,830 AF ablation admissions, 80.0% were low-frailty, 15.0% intermediate, and 5.0% high-frailty. High-frailty patients had markedly higher complication rates than low-frailty patients. In-hospital mortality was 6.1% in high frailty vs. 1.0% in low frailty, and stroke occurred in 4.0% vs. 0.3%, respectively. Rates of respiratory failure (18.0% vs. 3.5%), sepsis (8.0% vs. 1.2%), and acute dialysis (4.0% vs. 0.5%) were also significantly higher in the high-frailty group (all p < 0.001). In multivariate analyses, frailty remained a strong independent predictor of complications; high frailty conferred over four-fold higher odds of in-hospital mortality and five-fold higher odds of stroke compared to low frailty. Conclusions: Frailty is a powerful predictor of periprocedural complications and mortality in AF ablation patients. Even after accounting for age and comorbidities, patients with higher frailty scores experienced substantially worse in-hospital outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of frailty assessment to identify high-risk patients and inform clinical decision-making for AF ablation.