Early Mobilization in People With Acute Cardiovascular Disease

Early mobilization (EM) is recommended in critical care units. However, there is little known about EM in people with acute cardiovascular disease.

Consecutive admissions to a tertiary-care cardiovascular intensive care unit (CICU) before and after implementation of an EM program were reviewed. The Level of Function (LOF) Mobility Scale, which ranges from 0 (bed immobile) to 5 (able to walk >20 m), was used to measure and guide mobility. The primary outcome was discharge home.

There were 1489 patients included in the analysis (preintervention, N = 637; intervention, N = 852). There were no differences in age, sex, or admission for ischemic heart disease (age 68.1 ± 16.1 years; 39.3% female). In the intervention cohort, one-quarter (N = 222; 26.1%) had at least mildly impaired prehospital functional status. The LOF was 4.6 ± 0.7 prehospital, 3.2 ± 1.4 on admission, and 4.2 ± 0.9 on CICU discharge. Half of patients (51.6%) increased their LOF by ≥1 during CICU admission. Nearly all mobility opportunities had a mobility activity (97.0%). The adverse event rate was 0.3% with no life-threatening events, falls, line dislodgements, or health care personnel injuries. The intervention group, compared with the preintervention group, was more likely to be discharged home (83.9% vs 78.3%, P < 0.007) and had a lower rate of in-hospital death (4.2% vs 6.8%; P = 0.04). When adjusted for age, sex, and comorbid illness, admission LOF was a predictor of discharge to health care facility (odds ratio = 0.72; P < 0.001).

EM is safe and feasible in the CICU and effective at increasing discharge home.