Relationship Between Community-Level Distress and Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation, Facility Access, and Clinical Outcomes After Inpatient Coronary Revascularization

Abstract

Background: Although disparities in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation are well documented, the role of community-level distress is poorly understood. This study evaluated the relationship between community-level distress and CR participation, access to CR facilities, and clinical outcomes. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on a 100% sample of Medicare beneficiaries undergoing inpatient coronary revascularization between July 2016 and December 2018. Community-level distress was defined using the Distressed Community Index quintile at the beneficiary zip code level, with the first and fifth quintiles representing prosperous and distressed communities, respectively. Outpatient claims were used to identify any CR use within 1 year of discharge. Beneficiary and CR facility zip codes were used to describe access to CR facilities. Adjusted logistic regression models evaluated the association between Distressed Community Index quintiles, CR use, and clinical outcomes, including one-year mortality, all-cause hospitalization, and acute myocardial infarction hospitalization. Results: A total of 414 730 beneficiaries were identified, with 96 929 (23.4%) located in the first and 67 900 (16.4%) in the fifth quintiles, respectively. Any CR use was lower for beneficiaries in distressed compared with prosperous communities (26.0% versus 46.1%, P <0.001), which was significant after multivariable adjustment (odds ratio, 0.41 [95% CI, 0.40–0.42]). A total of 98 458 (23.7%) beneficiaries had a CR facility within their zip code, which increased from 16.3% in prosperous communities to 26.6% in distressed communities. Any CR use was associated with absolute reductions in mortality (−6.8% [95% CI, −7.0% to −6.7%]), all-cause hospitalization (−5.9% [95% CI, −6.3% to −5.6%]), and acute myocardial infarction hospitalization (−1.3% [95% CI, −1.5% to −1.1%]), which were similar across each Distressed Community Index quintiles. Conclusions: Although community-level distress was associated with lower CR participation, the clinical benefits were universally received. Addressing barriers to CR in distressed communities should be considered a significant priority to improve survival after coronary revascularization and reduce disparities.

Eliminating Financial Barriers to Cardiac Rehabilitation

“…Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves quality of life and clinical outcomes for patients with acute and long-term cardiovascular conditions, but fewer than one-third of patients attend a single session . Disparities in CR participation across vulnerable populations, including patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES), have been well documented . Yet, solutions to this problem remain elusive, which likely contributes to long-term disparities in cardiovascular quality of care and outcomes.…”

“…Despite the promise of financial incentives for improving CR adherence in patients with lower SES, challenges remain. First, prior work has established that patients with lower SES also struggle with enrolling in CR at all . Thus, although addressing financial barriers for patients with lower SES may improve adherence, it may not address all of the barriers to enrolling in CR.…”