Self-reported physical inactivity predicts survival after hospitalization for heart disease

Physical inactivity increases with age and is shown to be inverse and independently related to mortality among patients with coronary heart disease. However, the knowledge of this relationship among elderly heart patients is limited because of their exclusion from many studies. The aim of this study was to investigate how self-reported physical activity affects all-cause mortality among elderly patients admitted to hospital with coronary heart disease or congestive heart failure. An observational study was carried out, including patients ≥65 years of age who were admitted to a Coronary Unit with coronary heart disease or congestive heart failure. Patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire on physical activity and divided into a sedentary and non-sedentary group, and followed for vital status for 2 ¹/₂; years after admission. In total, 150 patients participated. Within this study, all-cause mortality was 27.3%. Sedentary patients had a 3.9-fold (95% CI, 1.9 to 7.8) increase in mortality compared to non-sedentary patients. Adjusting for potential confounders such as severity of heart disease, co-morbidity, medication and social factors in a Cox proportional hazard regression model did not attenuate the association. Only 25% of sedentary patients with heart failure were alive after 2 ¹/₂; years compared to 75% of those that were physically active (p < 0.001). This study emphasises the importance of physical activity among elderly heart patients and demonstrates that a group of sedentary patients, who are at high risk, can easily be identified and require special attention.