Gait speed as an incremental predictor of mortality and major morbidity in elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the value of gait speed, a clinical marker for frailty, to improve the prediction of mortality and major morbidity in elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: It is increasingly difficult to predict the elderly patient's risk posed by cardiac surgery because existing risk assessment tools are incomplete.

Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort of elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery was assembled at 4 tertiary care hospitals between 2008 and 2009.