Exercise After Hospitalization Is Associated With Lower Readmission Rates in Older Heart Failure Patients Regardless...

This study investigated the effects of pre- and post-hospitalization exercise habits on readmission among older (age ≥65 years) heart failure (HF) patients.

The study included 98 older patients who were admitted to Odawara Municipal Hospital because of HF (mean [±SD] age 80.6±7.8 years; 41.8% female). Patients were categorized into 4 groups based on pre- and post-hospitalization exercise habits: persistent non-exercisers; exercise dropouts; new exercisers; and persistent exercisers. Exercise was defined as engaging in ≥30 min of moderate or vigorous exercise at least once a week. The primary outcome was all-cause readmission during the 1-year follow-up period. Twenty (20.4%), 25 (25.5%), 39 (39.8%), and 14 (14.3%) patients were classified as persistent non-exercisers, exercise dropouts, persistent exercisers, and new exercisers, respectively. Of the 98 patients in the study, 46 (46.9%) were readmitted during the 1-year follow-up period. In Cox proportional hazards analyses, newly exercising (hazard ratio [HR] 0.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03-0.53; P=0.004) and persistent exercising (HR 0.23; 95% CI, 0.09-0.57; P=0.001) remained independent prognostic factors for reduced rates of readmission, even after adjusting for confounding factors.

We found that continuing or starting exercise after hospital discharge is associated with lower rates of readmission among HF patients. Regular post-discharge assessments of exercise habits are essential for older HF patients.