TOPLINE:

Sedentary behavior in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was associated with an increased risk for readmission to the hospital or emergency department up to 365 days after discharge. Even sitting for more than 13 hours a day combined with low moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was linked to an elevated risk.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a prospective study at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, involving 536 adults evaluated for suspected or confirmed ACS from 2016 to 2020.
• Sedentary behavior and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were measured using a wrist-worn accelerometer for 30 days following discharge.
• Patients were stratified into tertiles of sedentary time, with data on readmissions to the emergency department or hospital collected through electronic health records and patient contacts.
• The primary outcome was all-cause readmission to the emergency department or hospital between 30 and 365 days after discharge.

TAKEAWAY:

• Readmissions were observed in 36.9% of patients. An increased risk for readmission was observed in patients with sedentary time more than 13 hours per day.
• Greater sedentary time was associated with a higher risk for all-cause readmission to the emergency department or hospital, even after adjusting for disease severity and physical activity.
• High sedentary time combined with low moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (less than a median of 9.3 minutes per day) was associated with the highest risk for readmission (hazard ratio, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.52-3.68). Among patients with higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (≥ median), the association of high sedentary time with the risk for readmission was attenuated.
• Patients with both low sedentary time and low moderate-to-vigorous physical activity showed no difference in the risk for readmission compared with those with low sedentary time and high moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

IN PRACTICE:

“These findings suggest that sedentary behavior should be considered as a risk stratification tool and that reductions in sedentary time may be a nonpharmacologic treatment approach for reducing readmission risk in patients evaluated for suspected ACS. Higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity did not eliminate the risk of all-cause ED or hospital readmission associated with sedentary behavior, which suggests that MVPA alone may be insufficient for mitigating readmission risk in this patient population,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Benjamin D. Boudreaux, PhD, of the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was published online on January 21, 2026, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

Only 25% of patients received an ACS diagnosis. Sedentary behavior was measured based on intensity, not distinguishing between sitting and motionless standing, which may affect accuracy. The causes of readmissions were not recorded, hindering the understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.