Trial Outcomes & Findings for The Impact of a Home-Based Walking Exercise Program on Heart Failure (NCT NCT06791967)

This study collected data from hospitalized patients in the internal medicine and surgical wards of a medical center in northern Taiwan. Patients who met the following study criteria, as diagnosed and evaluated by a cardiologist, were informed of the research topic, purpose, study duration, and procedures

Participants were randomly assigned using block randomization and divided into an experimental group and a control group.

Participants who withdrew or were lost to follow-up before this assessment were not included in the analysis.

A state of mood in daily life characterized by a loss of interest or pleasure in activities, accompanied by symptoms such as weight loss or decreased appetite, insomnia or excessive sleep, psychomotor abnormalities or agitation, fatigue or lack of energy, excessive guilt or self-deprecation, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, and suicidal thoughts, plans, or behaviors. Scoring Method： Each response is assigned a score based on the following scale:0 points: Not at all,1 point: Several days,2 points: More than half the days,3 points: Nearly every. PHQ-9 score obtained by adding score for each question (total points). 0-4: Minimal or no depression 5-9: Mild depression 10-14: Moderate depression 15-19: Moderately severe depression 20-27: Severe depression Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms, with a score of 10 or above generally suggesting the need for further clinical evaluation or intervention.

Frailty is defined as a decline in overall physiological resilience, making it difficult to cope with stress or even daily activities. The current criteria for identifying frailty include the presence of at least three of the following five symptoms: reduced grip strength, decreased energy levels, slow walking speed, insufficient physical activity. A score from 1 (very fit) to 9 (terminally ill) is given based on the descriptions and pictographs of activity and functional status. Scoring Description: 1. Very Fit 2. Fit 3. Managing Well 4. Living with Very Mild Frailty 5. Living with Mild Frailty 6. Living with Moderate Frailty 7. Living with Severe Frailty 8. Living with Very Severe Frailty 9. Terminally Ill In the CSHA-CFS assessment, higher scores indicate greater frailty. A score of 1 reflects very fit individuals, while a score of 9 indicates terminal illness and full dependency. Mid-range scores (4-6) signify moderate frailty with functional limitations.

Quality of life refers to an individual's functional abilities and well-being across physical, psychological, and social domains. Functionality includes physical functions such as self-care (e.g., bathing, dressing, walking); role functions, such as work-related activities like household chores and professional tasks; and social functions, which involve the extent of interaction with family and friends. Well-being, on the other hand, is more subjective than functionality and encompasses emotions such as happiness, sadness, depression, anxiety, pain, and fatigue. Scoring Range: The MLHFQ consists of 21 items, each scored on a scale from 0 to 5. 0: No impact on daily life. 5: Maximum impact on daily life. Total Score: Add the scores for all 21 items to calculate the total score. The total score ranges from 0 to 105, with higher scores indicating a greater negative impact of heart failure on the patient's quality of life.