Effects of phase I cardiac rehabilitation on anxiety of patients hospitalized for coronary artery bypass graft in Taiwan

Objective: To assess the effects of phase I cardiac rehabilitation intervention on anxiety of patients hospitalized for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Design: Prospective, quasi-experimental, random assignment, repeated measurements. Setting: The Veterans General Hospital Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. Patients: Seventy patients were randomly assigned to (1) the phase I cardiac rehabilitation intervention (experimental) group and (2) the nonintervention (comparison) group. Ultimately, 60 subjects were included in the data analyses. Outcome Measures: Psychological status was evaluated by the state of anxiety scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Anxiety scores were measured 3 times: (1) after admission, before the patient underwent CABG surgery; (2) the day before the patient underwent CABG surgery; and (3) the day of discharge from the hospital. Intervention: Individual instruction in progressive exercises and daily activities according to the phase I cardiac rehabilitation program (Chinese manual) were used during hospitalization. Results: Data analysis was performed with use of generalized estimating equations (GEE) to assess the between- and within-group variations. The mean anxiety for all subjects before undergoing CABG surgery was 42.6. The mean anxiety on the day before undergoing CABG surgery was 33.7 in the experimental group and 49.8 in the comparison group; there were statistical differences, with a P <.05 level of significance between these 2 groups. The mean anxiety on the day of discharge in the experimental group was 28.6 and in the comparison group was 38.4; there were statistical differences, with a P <.05 level of significance between these 2 groups. Conclusions: These results have been supported by similar studies. This finding suggests that application of phase I cardiac rehabilitation intervention can reduce the anxiety level during hospitalization of patients undergoing CABG surgery. (Heart Lung® 2002;31:133-40.)