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General Rehabilitation

Session: Heart Failure In Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Heart Failure in Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Friday, October 24, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM MT
Location: Kiosk 9

    Primary Author(s)

  • Sean Zwicky, MD

    Chief Resident
    Northwestern McGaw / Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
    Chicago, Illinois

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Leslie Rydberg, MD (she/her/hers)

    Associate Professor of PM&R and Medical Education
    McGaw MC of NW University NW Med Schl/RIC
    Chicago, Illinois

Disclosure(s):
Sean Zwicky, MD: No financial relationships to disclose
Background and/or Objectives: Heart failure is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, and is the leading cause of hospitalization in patients aged 65 or older in the United States. It is linked to poor health outcomes, delayed recovery, and reduced quality of life. The complex interplay of aging, deconditioning, cardiovascular dysfunction, and skeletal muscle wasting often results in progressive functional impairments, which are further exacerbated by inactivity, frequent hospitalizations, and episodes of acute decompensation. This population constitutes a significant portion of patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation, yet the efficacy and safety of rehabilitation for these individuals has not been well established. The aim of this study was to describe the patient characteristics and outcomes of heart failure patients receiving rehabilitation at a large, stand-alone inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Design: Retrospective, observational cohort study

Setting : Free-standing, academic, urban inpatient rehabilitation facility

Participants : Included study participants were patients at least 18-years-old who were admitted to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab between October 2019 and July 2023 with a primary or comorbid diagnosis of heart failure identified using ICD codes (I50.20, I50.21, I50.22, I50.23, I50.30, I50.31, I50.32, I50.33, I50.40, I50.41, I50.42, I50.43, I50.9).

Interventions: Patients engaged in a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation program incorporating physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

Main Outcome Measures: Age, length of stay, discharge destination

Results: 2423 patients aged 18-98 (mean 66.7 ± 13.4) with a diagnosis of heart failure participated in inpatient rehabilitation. There was a large range of length of stay ranging from 0 – 153 days (mean 18.8 ± 11.2) . A majority of patients discharged home (65.8%) with a minority requiring transfer to an acute care hospital (22.7%), discharge to skilled nursing facility (10.2%), or other discharge destination (1.3%).

Conclusions: Patients with underlying heart failure can be appropriate for inpatient rehabilitation and have a high likelihood of discharging home.