Author/Authors :
Esteki Ghashghaei، Fatemeh نويسنده Former MSc Student of Exercise Physiology, Department of Physical Educationa and Sport sciences, Khorasgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran , , Sadeghi، Masoumeh نويسنده , , Marandi، Seyed Mohammad نويسنده Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology, Department of Physical Educational and Sport Sciences, The University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran , , Esteki Ghashghaei، Samira نويسنده MSc, Physical Education, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran, Iran ,
Abstract :
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disorders are an important public health problem worldwide.
They are also the leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Therefore, American Heart
Association proposed cardiac rehabilitation program as an essential part of care for cardiac
patients to improve functional capacity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness
of cardiac rehabilitation program on functional status and some hemodynamic responses in
patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
METHODS: Thirty two patients were selected for this study. All patients underwent cardiac
surgery two months before admission. They were allocated to two groups. While the
rehabilitation group (n =17, mean age: 62 ± 12 years) completed the cardiac rehabilitation
program for two months, the reference group (n = 15, mean age: 58.5 ± 12.5 years) did not have
any supervised physical activity during this period. Cardiac rehabilitation program consisted of
exercise, nutritional, psychological consultation and risk factor management. At the beginning
of the study, functional capacity of patients was evaluated by exercise test, 6-minute walking test
and echocardiography. Functional capacity was evaluated for a second time after two months of
cardiac rehabilitation. Data were analyzed by SPSS15. For comparing the mean of outcomes,
Mann-Whitney test and Wilcoxon signed ranks test were used.
RESULTS: As a result of cardiac rehabilitation, a significant improvement was observed in the
distance walked in the rehabilitation group (P < 0.01) compared to the reference group
(P = 0.33). It also caused a significant development in hemodynamic responses to exercise such
as resting and maximum systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting and maximum heart rate,
ejection fraction and rate pressure product.
CONCLUSION: Cardiac rehabilitation significantly improves functional capacity and some
hemodynamic responses post coronary artery bypass grafting. Therefore, patients need to be
referred to rehabilitation units.
