Prevalence of ventricular ectopy in older adults across different frailty levels

An increased prevalence of ventricular ectopy (Premature Ventricular Contraction, PVC) is associated with increased incidence of congestive heart failure and increased mortality. Increase in incidence of ventricular ectopy with age has been demonstrated in previous studies, but to the best of our knowledge, its association with frailty, a geriatric syndrome that is associated with adverse health outcomes, has not been studied. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ventricular ectopy in older adults across different frailty levels. A uni-channel ECG in 45 older adults aged 65 and above were measured using a wearable ECG recorder. Participants were classified as non-frail (n=22), pre-frail (n=17), and frail (n=6) using the Fried frailty phenotype. PVCs were identified automatically, and subsequently checked manually by an expert to ensure accuracy. Number of PVC beats per hour was considered for ECG assessment and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to evaluate the number of PVC episodes per hour among frailty groups. Ninety eight percent of participants had at least one PVC episode and correlation of number of PVC beats with age was very weak (r=0.28, p=0.076). Number of PVC beats was not significantly different (p>0.05) between non-frail (44.18±67.58), pre-frail (47.93±76.76), and frail (22.13±7.84). However, the average number of PVC beats was higher in pre-frail compared to non-frail (p>0.05).