A study led by Michigan Medicine has revealed that most individuals who undergo a minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedure do not engage in recommended cardiac rehabilitation. The research, is based on clinical registry and healthcare claims data from more than 3,300 patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) at 24 hospitals in Michigan between 2016 and mid-2020. The goal of the study was to determine the rate of cardiac rehabilitation participation and the factors influencing it. The findings, are published in JACC: Advances.
The study indicates that only 30.6% of TAVR patients participated in cardiac rehabilitation within 90 days of discharge. Factors such as older age, frailty, smoking, and a history of common heart rhythm issues like atrial fibrillation were associated with lower participation rates.
The study also revealed significant variability in cardiac rehabilitation participation across the 24 hospitals, ranging from 5% to 60%, even when accounting for patient characteristics. This variation remained consistent across hospitals.
Compared to patients who underwent open-heart surgeries, TAVR patients had a significantly lower participation rate in cardiac rehab. Researchers suggested that this difference could be due to TAVR patients being frailer or having more complex medical conditions. They also noted that patients may not receive sufficient education about the importance of cardiac rehabilitation after this procedure.
Dr Devraj Sukul, the study's first author, emphasised the significance of identifying best practices to promote cardiac rehab participation to enhance postoperative outcomes.
Source: Michigan Medicine
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