The American journal of medicine
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Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of mortality and hospitalization in the United States. Transitional care initiatives can improve outcomes for cardiac patients, but it is unclear whether patients with different baseline comorbidity burden benefit equally. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Bridging the Discharge Gap Effectively (BRIDGE) program, a nurse-practitioner-led transitional care clinic, in mitigating adverse clinical outcomes in cardiac patients with varying Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). ⋯ Attendance at a transitional care clinic is inversely associated with risk of readmission and a composite endpoint in cardiac patients with low CCI. Future research should investigate modified transitional care programs in patients with varying comorbidity burden.