Personalized exercise may improve frailty and survival odds before transplant
A Northwestern Medicine and University of Pittsburgh study found that a physician-led fitness plan can reduce frailty in transplant candidates. Lower frailty was associated with lower mortality, suggesting pre-transplant conditioning may help patients who were previously considered too weak.
A study involving Northwestern Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh examined a clinician-directed conditioning program for people awaiting transplantation. It found that participants’ vulnerability decreased, and that those with less vulnerability had better survival odds. The results suggest that building fitness before transplant might help individuals once considered unsuitable because of weakness.
The findings could matter most to frail patients awaiting transplants, their caregivers, and transplant teams. If pre-transplant conditioning can reduce vulnerability and is associated with better survival, it may become a more central part of preparation and could expand options for people previously seen as too weak. Because this is a single study, questions about broader access and implementation may follow, but the potential impact is a more individualized approach to pre-surgical fitness.