Background: The benefit of rehabilitation interventions in patients who are 65 years of age or older with myocardial infarction and impaired physical performance remains unclear.
Methods: In this multicenter, randomized trial conducted in Italy, we assigned older patients with impaired physical performance 1 month after myocardial infarction in a 2:1 ratio to receive either an intervention consisting of control of cardiovascular risk factors, dietary counseling, and exercise training (intervention group) or usual care (control group). The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death or unplanned hospitalization for cardiovascular causes within 1 year.
Results: A total of 512 patients underwent randomization (342 to the intervention group and 170 to the control group). The median age of the patients was 80 years, and 36% were women. A primary-outcome event occurred in 43 patients (12.6%) in the intervention group and in 35 patients (20.6%) in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36 to 0.89; P = 0.01). Cardiovascular death occurred in 14 patients (4.1%) in the intervention group and in 10 patients (5.9%) in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.31 to 1.55). Unplanned hospitalization for cardiovascular causes occurred in 31 patients (9.1%) in the intervention group and in 30 patients (17.6%) in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.79). There were no serious adverse events associated with the intervention.
Conclusions: Among older patients with impaired physical performance 1 month after myocardial infarction, a multidomain rehabilitation intervention resulted in a lower incidence of cardiovascular death or unplanned cardiovascular hospitalization within 1 year than usual care. (Funded by the Italian Health Ministry; PIpELINe ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04183465.).
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