The Utility of Focused Frailty Interventions on Patients With Advanced Heart Failure

Participants with advanced heart failure with a New York Heart Association class of III or IV symptoms within the last 3 months will be identified by either their outpatient heart failure clinic notes or inpatient cardiology notes. Patients will be approached for participation if cardiac rehab is mentioned in the notes and inclusion/exclusion criteria it met. Once the consent is signed, the baseline visit will be scheduled, this will be done before cardiac rehab has started. The baseline visit include frailty assessment measured by a walk time/gait speed test and handgrip strength test, and quality of life assessment measured using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure (MLHF) questionnaire. Patients will then attend cardiac rehabilitation for six week program. The cardiac rehab program will be designed by the individual facility due to the variation in exercise tolerance of each patient, no universal protocol will be used. After the six weeks of cardiac rehab, up to 16 weeks post-completion, the patient will return to Mayo Clinic Rochester to complete the frailty and quality of life assessment.