Heart rate variability: A biomarker of frailty in older adults?

Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Oct 14:9:1008970. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1008970. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Frailty is a state of critical loss of physiological complexity resulting in greater vulnerability to stressors and has been characterized as a debility syndrome in the older adult. Changes in functional capacity and the cardiovascular system during aging are the most significant and relevant for this population, including the clinically healthy. In this sense, this review aims to investigate methods to monitor the performance of older adults, such as heart rate variability and verify how it can be related to frailty. It contributes to understanding that the changes in heart variability can be a marker for frailty in older adults.

Keywords: autonomic control; frailty; heart rate variability; older adults; wearable device (WD).

Publication types

  • Review