Table 1 Baseline characteristics (Total cohort, cardiac vs. geriatric rehabilitation patients)
|  | Total cohort (n = 249) | CR (n = 198) | GR (n = 51) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Patient characteristics | ||||
 Age, years | 80.7 ± 5.1 | 80.3 ± 4.9 | 82.6 ± 5.4 | 0.003 |
 Sex, male | 102 (41.0) | 87 (43.9) | 15 (29.4) | 0.060 |
 NYHA III/IV | 241 (96.8) | 190 (96.0) | 51 (100.0) | 0.145 |
 BMI, kg/m2 | 28.0 ± 4.8 | 28.0 ± 4.6 | 27.8 ± 5.4 | 0.818 |
 Physical activity (subjective) |  |  |  | <  0.001 |
  Inactive (<  90 min/week) | 75 (30.1) | 45 (22.7) | 30 (58.8) |  |
  Active (≥ 90–150 min/week) | 64 (25.7) | 59 (29.8) | 5 (9.8) |  |
  Very active (>  150 min/week) | 110 (44.2) | 94 (47.5) | 16 (31.4) |  |
 Level of care |  |  |  | <  0.001 |
  None | 207 (83.1) | 181 (91.4) | 26 (51.0) |  |
  1 | 36 (14.5) | 16 (8.1) | 20 (39.2) |  |
  2 | 6 (2.4) | 1 (0.5) | 5 (9.8) |  |
 Diabetes mellitus | 106 (42.6) | 82 (41.4) | 24 (47.1) | 0.467 |
 Log. EuroSCORE, % | 16.5 ± 12.1 | 15.0 ± 10.9 | 22.5 ± 14.6 | 0.001 |
 Comorbidities, no. | 2.2 ± 1.3 | 2.1 ± 1.2 | 2.5 ± 1.4 | 0.051 |
 CAD | 159 (63.9) | 124 (62.6) | 35 (68.6) | 0.426 |
 COPD | 47 (18.9) | 33 (16.7) | 14 (27.5) | 0.079 |
 PAD | 57 (22.9) | 37 (18.7) | 20 (39.2) | 0.002 |
 CKD | 114 (45.8) | 85 (42.9) | 29 (56.9) | 0.075 |
 Stroke/TIA | 34 (13.7) | 30 (15.2) | 4 (7.8) | 0.175 |
 Length of hospital stay, days | 11.1 ± 4.3 | 10.2 ± 3.8 | 14.6 ± 4.6 | <  0.001 |
ECG and Echocardiography | ||||
 Rhythm |  |  |  | 0.280 |
  Sinus rhythm | 144 (57.8) | 119 (60.0) | 25 (49.0) |  |
  Atrial fibrillation | 98 (39.4) | 73 (36.9) | 25 (49.0) |  |
  Pacemaker | 7 (2.8) | 6 (3.1) | 1 (2.0) |  |
 LVEF, % | 54.5 ± 10.9 | 55.4 ± 10.3 | 51.2 ± 12.3 | 0.027 |
 Left atrium, mm | 45.6 ± 6.4 | 45.4 ± 6.2 | 46.2 ± 6.8 | 0.463 |
 LVEDD | 48.2 ± 8.3 | 47.8 ± 8.0 | 49.6 ± 9.2 | 0.177 |
 LVPW | 13.4 ± 2.9 | 13.2 ± 2.6 | 13.7 ± 3.8 | 0.369 |
 IVS | 13.4 ± 2.7 | 13.4 ± 2.6 | 13.4 ± 3.1 | 0.944 |
 Transaortic ∆ Pmean (mmHg) | 44.9 ± 16.5 | 44.5 ± 15.8 | 46.3 ± 19.2 | 0.544 |
 Transaortic ∆ Pmax (mmHg) | 71.6 ± 24.9 | 71.1 ± 24.0 | 73.6 ± 28.2 | 0.575 |