The potential of home-based multicomponent exercise programmes in managing frailty in cardiac surgery recovery

This invited commentary refers to ‘Effects of a home-based multicomponent exercise programme on frailty in post-cardiac surgery patients: a randomized controlled trial’, by W.T. Huang et al., https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvaf014. Frailty, a clinical syndrome characterized by reduced physiological reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors, significantly impacts the outcomes of patients undergoing cardiac surgeries.1 Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality,2 and frailty prevalence among cardiac surgery patients ranges from 16.2 to 50%, significantly higher than in those undergoing non-cardiac surgeries.3,4 This vulnerability underscores the need for tailored interventions to mitigate frailty and its associated risks, such as functional decline, prolonged hospitalization, and mortality.4 While previous research has highlighted the reversible nature of frailty through exercise and nutritional interventions,5–8 the limited exploration of their effects in post-cardiac surgery contexts presents a critical knowledge gap. In this issue, Huang et al.9 published a valuable trial addressing the unmet need for evidence-based, home-based multicomponent interventions for frail patients recovering from cardiac surgeries.