InterventionsHuman trial333 frail inpatients12 monthsRandomised trial

Multidisciplinary care reduces frailty in older cardiac patients

In a randomized trial, the year-long RENAP regimen yielded an adjusted mean difference of -0.79 in frailty and 2.02 in physical performance against usual care.

Fig. 1. Flow of participants through the study.Flow of participants through the study.Chai et al.

Nature Communications4 Oct 2026, 08:19 BST

In a multicentre trial of 333 frail inpatients aged 70 and older with cardiovascular diseases in Beijing, researchers tested the RENAP programme against usual care. The year-long intervention combined personalized rehabilitation exercises, patient education, nutritional guidance, acupoint massage, and polypharmacy management.

At 12 months, intention-to-treat analysis showed the intervention improved the Fried Frailty Phenotype score by an adjusted mean difference of -0.79 points and the Short Physical Performance Battery score by 2.02 points compared to usual care. Patients receiving the intervention also had a lower risk of all-cause hospital readmission over one year (hazard ratio 0.53). No treatment-related serious adverse events were reported.

Why it matters

Frailty represents a major manifestation of biological aging that exacerbates vulnerability and functional decline in older adults. Demonstrating that a coordinated, multi-target lifestyle and clinical protocol can improve physical performance indicates that frailty phenotypes remain modifiable even alongside serious cardiovascular disease.

Caveats

The study was conducted across three hospitals in a single city, and neither participants nor clinical teams could be blinded to the intervention. In addition, 81 of the 333 enrolled patients did not complete the 12-month primary outcome assessment.