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Objectives To characterize the magnitude and duration of risk of rehospitalization according to age after hospitalization for heart failure ( HF), acute myocardial infarction ( AMI), or pneumonia. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting U.S. hospitals (n = 4,767). Participants All Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 and older surviving hospitalization for HF, AMI, or pneumonia between October 2012 and December 2013. Measurements Daily risk of first rehospitalization for 1 year after hospital discharge was calculated according to age category (65-74, 75-84, ≥85) after adjustment for sex, race, comorbidities, and median ZIP code income. Time required for adjusted rehospitalization risk to decline 50% from maximum value after discharge, time required for adjusted risk to approach a plateau period of minimal day-to-day change, and degree to which adjusted risk was higher in recently hospitalized individuals than in the general elderly population were identified. Results There were 414,720 hospitalizations for HF, 177,752 for AMI, and 568,304 for pneumonia. The adjusted risk of rehospitalization declined with increasing age after HF hospitalization ( P < .001), rose with increasing age after AMI hospitalization ( P < .001), and was slightly lower with increasing age after pneumonia hospitalization ( P = .002). Adjusted risks of rehospitalization were high beyond 30 days after hospitalization for all ages. Conclusion Although older age has heterogeneous relationships with rehospitalization risk, risk of readmission remains high for an extended time after discharge regardless of age or admitting condition. Condition-specific data on risk can be used to guide discussions on advanced care planning and strategies for longitudinal follow-up after hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Stress experienced in a marriage or committed relationship may be associated with worse patient-reported outcomes after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but little is known about this association in young adults (≤55 years) with AMI. Methods and Results We used data from VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients), an observational cohort study that enrolled individuals aged 18 to 55 years with AMI (2008-2012). Marital stress was self-reported 1 month after AMI using the Stockholm Marital Stress Scale (categorized as absent/mild, moderate, and severe). Outcomes were physical/mental health (Short Form-12 ) , generic health status (EuroQol-5 Dimensions), cardiac-specific quality of life and angina (Seattle Angina Questionnaire), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and all-cause readmission 1 year after AMI. Regression models were sequentially adjusted for baseline health, demographics (sex, age, race or ethnicity), and socioeconomic factors (education, income, employment, and insurance). Sex and marital stress interaction was also tested. Among 1593 married/partnered participants, 576 (36.2%) reported severe marital stress, which was more common in female than male participants (39.4% versus 30.4%, P =0.001). Severe marital stress was significantly associated with worse mental health (beta=-2.13, SE=0.75, P =0.004), generic health status (beta=-3.87, SE=1.46, P =0.008), cardiac-specific quality of life (beta=-6.41, SE=1.65, P <0.001), and greater odds of angina (odds ratio [OR], 1.49 [95% CI, 1.06-2.10], P =0.023) and all-cause readmissions (OR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.04-2.00], P =0.006), after adjusting for baseline health, demographics, and socioeconomic factors. These associations were similar across sexes ( P -interaction all >0.05). Conclusions The association between marital stress and worse 1-year health outcomes was statistically significant in young patients with AMI, suggesting a need for routine screening and the creation of interventions to support patients with stress recovering from an AMI.

Background Sex differences in health status outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention among patients without acute myocardial infarction are not well described. Methods and Results A total of 2237 patients (33.4% women) without acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were enrolled from 39 Chinese tertiary hospitals in the PEACE (China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events) prospective percutaneous coronary intervention study. Data were collected immediately before and 1 year following percutaneous coronary intervention. Health status was measured using the disease-specific Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) Angina Frequency and Quality of Life domains, as well as the SAQ Summary Score. Among the study population, women were older, more often single, had lower levels of education, and had a higher prevalence of cardiac risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Women had lower mean 1-year SAQ Angina Frequency scores (mean±SD, 91.0±17.3 versus 93.9±13.3; P <0.01), SAQ Quality of Life scores (mean±SD, 67.3±23.0 versus 70.6±21.6; P <0.01), and SAQ Summary Scores (mean±SD, 81.6±13.8 versus 84.8±11.9; P <0.01), a difference of marginal clinical significance that persisted after multivariable adjustment. A slightly larger improvement in the SAQ Summary Score was observed in women as compared with men (20.9±22.6 versus 18.5±21.3; P =0.007) in unadjusted analysis. However, women were less likely to achieve clinically significant improvement in SAQ Angina Frequency (adjusted odds ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.45-1.00) and SAQ Quality of Life (adjusted odds ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96) after adjustment. Conclusions There were no clinically significant differences in 1-year health status outcomes and improvement in health status by sex among patients without acute myocardial infarction following percutaneous coronary intervention. However, female sex was associated with poorer 1-year health status and a lower likelihood of experiencing clinically improvement in health status. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. Unique identifier: NCT01624922.

Background Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, little is known about the association of diabetes mellitus with post-AMI health status outcomes (symptoms, functioning, and quality of life) in younger adults. Methods and Results We investigated the association between diabetes mellitus and health status during the first 12 months after AMI, using data from 3501 adults with AMI (42.6% with diabetes mellitus) aged 18 to 55 years enrolled in the VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients) study. Health status was measured with Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, and EuroQol-Visual Analogue Scale at baseline hospitalization, 1-month, and 12-months post-AMI. At baseline, patients with diabetes mellitus had significantly worse SAQ-angina frequency (81±22 versus 86±19), SAQ-physical limitations (77±28 versus 85±23), SAQ-quality of life (55±25 versus 57±23), 12-item Short-Form Health Survey mental (44±13 versus 46±12)/physical functioning (41±12 versus 46±12), and EuroQol-Visual Analogue Scale (61±22 versus 66±21) than those without diabetes mellitus. Over time, both groups (with and without diabetes mellitus) improved considerably and the differences in health status scores progressively narrowed (except for 12-item Short-Form Health Survey physical functioning). In the linear-mixed effects models, adjusted for sociodemographics, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, clinical characteristics, psychosocial factors, healthcare use, and AMI treatment, diabetes mellitus was associated with worse health status at baseline but not after discharge, and the association did not vary by sex. Conclusions At baseline, young adults with diabetes mellitus had poorer health status than those without diabetes mellitus. After AMI, however, they experienced significant improvements and diabetes mellitus was not associated with worse angina, SAQ-physical limitations, mental functioning, and quality of life, after adjustment for baseline covariates. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. Unique identifier: NCT00597922.

Background: Few studies have examined gender differences in health status and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). This study assessed (1) self-reported health status at PAD diagnosis and 12-months later, and explored (2) whether outcomes in women with PAD differ with regard to long-term major adverse events., Methods and Results: A total of 816 patients (285 women) with PAD were enrolled from 2 vascular clinics in the Netherlands. Baseline clinical data and subsequent adverse events were recorded and patients completed the Short Form-12 (SF-12, Physical Component Score [PCS] and Mental Component Score [MCS]) upon PAD diagnosis and 12-months later. Women had similar ages and clinical characteristics, but poorer socio-economic status and more depressive symptoms at initial diagnosis, as compared with men. Women also had poorer physical (PCS: 37±10 versus 40±10, P=0.004) and mental (, Mcs: 47±12 versus 49±11, P=0.005) health status at the time of presentation. At 12-months, women still reported a poorer overall PCS score (41±12 versus 46±11, P=0.006) and MCS score (42±14 versus 49±12, P=0.002). Female gender was an independent determinant of a poorer baseline and 12-month PCS and MCS scores. However, there were no significant differences by gender on either mortality (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR]=0.93, 95% CI 0.60;1.44, P=0.74) or major adverse events (unadjusted HR=0.90, 95% CI 0.63;1.29, P=0.57), after a median follow-up of 3.2 years., Conclusions: Women's physical and mental health status is compromised both at initial PAD diagnosis and at 12-month follow-up, despite experiencing a similar magnitude of change in their health scores throughout the first 12-months after diagnosis., (© 2014 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.)