A quick test performed before elderly heart attack patients leave the hospital can help predict whether they may need to be readmitted within 30 days, researchers found.
The Timed Up and Go test evaluates how long it takes patients to rise from a chair, walk 10 feet and then return to the chair.
Results of the SILVER-AMI study show those who took longer than 25 seconds to complete the test were nearly twice as likely to be readmitted than those who did it in less than 15 seconds.
Poor performance is a sign of weakness and evidence that the patient may be more vulnerable to infection, falls and other heart-related events, researchers reported.
“SILVER-AMI provides the first risk model for readmission specifically developed for older people hospitalized for heart attack by considering physical and cognitive impairments. Our results demonstrate that functional mobility, i.e., ability to get out of a chair and walk across a room and back, was the strongest predictor of hospital readmission,” said Sarwat Chaudhry, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Yale University and the study’s principal investigator.
“Our findings highlight the importance of assessing functional mobility as part of the routine care of older adults with heart attack.”
The study looked at more than 3,000 heart attack survivors at 94 U.S. hospitals.
From the June 6, 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
