Ten Seconds That Matter: Clinical Frailty Scale in Heart Failure | JACC Baran

Hosts Mitsuaki Sawano, MD, and Nobuhiro Ikemura, MD, welcome Dr. Taisuke Nakade (Juntendo University) and Dr. Yuya Matsue (Juntendo University) to discuss how a simple Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) captures multidimensional vulnerability and predicts outcomes in heart failure. Drawing on 3,905 patients (mean age 73 years) from the nationwide JROAD-HF NEXT registry, the JACC study (Frailty Scale Captures Multidimensional Vulnerability and Predicts Mortality in Heart Failure, 2025; doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.09.1590*) showed that higher CFS scores correlated stepwise with poorer physical and cognitive function and a marked rise in 2-year mortality (HR up to 6.6 for CFS 7-9). Adding CFS to standard risk models significantly improved prognostic discrimination, underscoring that bedside frailty assessment can efficiently identify high-risk patients and guide multidisciplinary heart-failure care.