Abstract 16761: Preprocedural Frailty is Associated With Lower Cardiac Rehabilitation Use Despite Greater Benefit

Abstract

Introduction: Increased frailty before cardiovascular procedures is associated with poorer outcomes. While underutilized, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is guideline-recommended for patients undergoing cardiovascular procedures and may help mitigate frailty through individualized, monitored exercise and risk factor reduction. Research Question/Hypothesis: Evaluate the relationship between preprocedural frailty, CR use, and one-year mortality. Methods: Medicare fee-for-service claims data were queried for patients who underwent inpatient percutaneous or surgical revascularization or aortic valve replacement between July 2016 and December 2018. Patients were stratified into quartiles (Q1 through Q4) using the validated claims-based frailty index. CR use was defined as attending any CR session within one year of discharge. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression was used to compare CR use across increasing frailty quartiles, and inverse probability treatment weighting was used to evaluate the effect of CR on one-year mortality across frailty quartiles. Results: Overall CR enrollment among the 570,851 beneficiaries was 35.3%; increasing frailty was associated with decreased CR use (unadjusted: frailty Q1: 48.3% vs Q4: 20.6%, p<0.001; adjusted OR: 0.61, p<0.001). Unadjusted one-year mortality was lower among CR users as opposed to non-users (2.7% vs 14.6%). After weighted adjustment, the absolute reduction in mortality associated with CR use was greater among frailer patients (Q4: -12.2%) relative to less frail patients (Q1: -2.9%) (Figure). Significant interaction effects between CR use and frailty quartiles indicated stronger associations of CR on mortality among more frail patients. Conclusions: Preprocedural frailty was associated with lower CR use despite greater absolute benefits on one-year mortality. Increasing CR enrollment in frail patients may enhance outcomes after cardiac interventions.