Cardiac REhabilitation COhort at the Medicine Campus DaVos to invEstigate Recovery

Outcome assessment will be conducted through a combination of structured telephone follow-up, systematic collection of relevant medical records from the time of inclusion to the follow-up visit, patient-completed questionnaires, and analysis of data from national health and mortality registries.

All-cause rehospitalization is defined as any unplanned hospital admission, regardless of cause, occurring following the index cardiac intervention or surgery. This includes admissions to any inpatient care facility for diagnostic, therapeutic, or emergency reasons, excluding planned elective procedures or routine follow-up admissions. Data will be obtained through structured follow-up, review of relevant hospital records, and linkage with national health insurance and hospital discharge registries to ensure comprehensive capture of rehospitalization events.

Quality of life will be assessed using the EuroQol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire, a validated patient-reported outcome measure, administered at baseline and follow-up. The EQ-5D index score ranges from less than 0 (indicating health states worse than death) to 1 (perfect health), with higher scores reflecting better health-related quality of life. Changes in index scores will be analyzed to evaluate the effects of cardiac rehabilitation.

The incidence of repeat cardiovascular surgery or catheter-based interventions will be recorded within the follow-up period. This includes any planned or unplanned procedures related to the index condition (e.g., valve re-surgery, revascularization) and will be verified through medical records and registry linkage.

New-onset atrial fibrillation is defined as a first documented episode of AF after the index cardiac intervention or surgery, verified by ECG or rhythm monitoring. Occurrence will be assessed through medical records, telemetry data, and clinical follow-up.

Cognitive function will be assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a standardized screening tool that evaluates multiple cognitive domains including memory, attention, executive function, and processing speed. Scores range from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating better cognitive performance. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and follow-up to detect changes or cognitive decline following the intervention.

Functional capacity will be objectively assessed at baseline and discharge using the standardized 6-minute walk test (6MWT). At follow-up, functional status will be evaluated through patient-reported outcomes collected via structured interviews and questionnaires to estimate changes in physical performance and exercise tolerance over time.