Evidence Hub

Frailty and Effects of a Multidomain Physical Rehabilitation Intervention Among Older Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial

A. Pandey, D. Kitzman, M. Nelson, A. Pastva, Pamela W. Duncan, D. Whellan, R. Mentz, Haiying Chen et al.

JAMA cardiology, 2023

337 participants · 93 citations

Abstract

Importance

Frailty is common among older patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and is associated with worse quality of life (QOL) and a higher risk of clinical events. Frailty can also limit recovery and response to interventions. In the Rehabilitation Therapy in Older Acute Heart Failure Patients (REHAB-HF) trial, a 3-month innovative, early, transitional, tailored, multidomain physical rehabilitation intervention improved physical function and QOL (vs usual care) in older patients with ADHF.

Objective

To evaluate whether baseline frailty modified the benefits of the physical rehabilitation intervention among patients with ADHF enrolled in the REHAB-HF trial and to assess the association between changes in frailty with the risk of adverse clinical outcomes on follow-up.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This prespecified secondary analysis of the REHAB-HF trial, a multicenter randomized clinical trial, included 337 patients 60 years and older hospitalized for ADHF. Patients were enrolled from September 17, 2014, through September 19, 2019. Participants were stratified across baseline frailty strata as assessed using modified Fried criteria. Data were analyzed from July 2021 to September 2022.

Interventions

Physical rehabilitation intervention or attention control.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Primary outcome was the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score at 3 months. Clinical outcomes included all-cause hospitalization or mortality at 6 months.…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a secondary / pooled analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 337 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free