Lumbar-Type Hybrid Assistive Limb Improves Short Physical Performance Battery for Aged Patients With Decompensated...

Unlike the outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program for chronic heart failure (HF), the acute-phase inpatient CR program is not well established. We aimed to examine whether CR using lumbar-type hybrid assistive limb (HAL; lumbar HAL-CR) therapy improves physical functions in hospitalized aged HF patients.

Decompensated and hospitalized HF patients were recruited from 2018 to 2019. As soon as possible after the decompensated HF phase, during the same hospitalization, participants underwent 40-min daily sessions of sit-to-stand and squat exercises with the lumbar-type HAL (lumbar HAL-CR program). The outcome measure was the score on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) before and after lumbar HAL-CR therapy. Twenty-eight HF patients (median age 84.5 years; 18 males) were enrolled. The median number of lumbar HAL-CR therapy sessions was 5.0. The SPPB score (7.0 [5.3-8.8] to 9.0 [7.0-11.0] points; P<0.001) and quadriceps isometric strength (0.25 [0.22-0.38] to 0.30 [0.26-0.37] kgf/kg; P=0.040) were significantly improved. Patients with lower nutrition status had more improvement in SPPB score.

For the inpatient CR program, lumbar-type HAL therapy improved physical functions in elderly HF patients. Lumbar-type HAL therapy may improve physical functions in aged HF patients within the current short-term period of hospitalization for acute-phase HF.