Wearable Device-Measured Physical Activity for Predicting Hospitalization-Associated Disability in Older Patients With Heart Failure

Abstract

Background: Hospitalization-associated disability (HAD) is linked to poor post-discharge outcomes in older individuals with heart failure (HF). We investigated whether HAD could be predicted by physical activity measured using a wearable device.

Methods and Results: We retrospectively analyzed data from 104 older individuals with HF whose physical activity was recorded for 3 consecutive days after initiating cardiac rehabilitation. Physical activity was categorized as sedentary behavior (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents [METs]), light-intensity physical activity (LPA; 1.6–2.9 METs), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (≥3.0 METs). HAD was observed in 31 (29.8%) individuals. LPA duration was significantly shorter in the HAD than non-HAD group (mean [±SD] 45.7±24.9 vs. 121.2±67.4 min/day; P<0.0001). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal LPA cut-off was 68 min/day, with 87.1% sensitivity and 80.8% specificity (area under the curve=0.888; P<0.0001).

Conclusions: Physical activity measured using a wearable device may be useful in predicting HAD in older individuals with HF.