Risk Management

Frailty and Cardiac Surgery.

Expert second opinions for frailty and cardiac surgery. Dual-physician Heart Team review with triple risk scoring. Results in 48 hours.

25-50% of cardiac surgery patients are frail

Prevalence

Frailty increases 30-day mortality 2-3x

Key Outcome

Prehabilitation can improve outcomes

Procedures

Overview

Understanding frailty and cardiac surgery.

Frailty — a state of decreased physiologic reserve — is increasingly recognized as one of the strongest predictors of poor outcomes after cardiac surgery. Frail patients have 2-3x higher mortality and significantly more complications. Importantly, frailty is not simply a function of age — it can be measured and sometimes improved.

Why It Matters

Why you need a second opinion.

Standard risk calculators (STS, EuroSCORE II) do not fully capture frailty. A comprehensive frailty assessment — including gait speed, grip strength, nutritional status, and cognitive function — can dramatically change the risk-benefit calculation. Prehabilitation programs can improve fitness before surgery. A second opinion determines whether surgery, transcatheter intervention, or optimized medical therapy is the safest path.

Critical Decisions

Key decisions for frailty and cardiac surgery.

Comprehensive frailty assessment

Surgical vs transcatheter vs medical management

Prehabilitation program before surgery

Goals of care discussion and realistic expectations

Nutritional optimization

Risk Factors

What affects your risk.

Gait speed <0.83 m/s

Low albumin (<3.5 g/dL)

Grip strength deficit

Cognitive impairment

Sarcopenia and deconditioning

Our Review

What our Heart Team provides.

Dual-physician review (cardiac surgeon + cardiologist)

Triple risk scoring (STS PROM, EuroSCORE II, AATS)

ACC/AHA guideline mapping with evidence grades

Treatment alternatives with risk-benefit comparison

Surgeon and institution matching via Sentinel

Personalized question guide for your next appointment

Complete provenance trail for every conclusion

Results delivered within 48 hours

Related conditions.

Perioperative Stroke Risk

Diabetes and Cardiac Surgery

Chronic Kidney Disease and Cardiac Surgery

Get an expert opinion on your frailty and cardiac surgery.

WhiteGloveMD delivers a dual-physician, AI-augmented second opinion in 48 hours. Starting at $495 during our inaugural period.

Start Your Review Try the Risk Calculator