Purpose of review: There is an increasing push for frailty assessment to become a routine part of the evaluation of potential candidates for advanced heart failure (AHF) therapies. The aim of this review is to highlight the importance of frailty in the care of the AHF patient.
Recent findings: This review focuses on some of the available data for the assessment of frailty specifically in the AHF, durable mechanical circulatory support (MCS), and heart transplant (HT) patients, and explores some of the challenges in assessing frailty in these patient populations.
Summary: As the presence of frailty can significantly impact outcomes after HT and durable MCS implantation, there should be an increased recognition of this entity during routine evaluation and management of the AHF patient.