Effect of cardiac rehabilitation program on functional capacity following valvular heart surgery

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 4 to 6 week cardiac rehabilitation program [CRP] on the functional capacity improvement of patients six weeks following aortic and/or mitral valve replacement/reconstruction surgery. Fifteen volunteer subjects were enrolled in the CRP. Functional capacity was estimated by oxygen uptake [VO2] during exercise tolerance testing [GXT] before and after CRP. To determine the CRP mechanism and its effects on cardiac output, left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] was measured by manual and automatic echocardiography. Heart rate [HR] and blood pressure [BP], as the criteria to evaluate patient's ischemic risk, were measured. All measurements were performed before and after CRP sessions. Functional capacity and VO2 at the maximum stage of the GXT increased significantly for the participants [from 6.67 to 9.92 Metabolic Equivalents, p<0.001]. Patient's LVEF increased significantly, and at rest HR and systolic BP decreased significantly [from 92.86 to 84.40 bpm, p<0.003, and from 113.33 to 104.00 mmHg, p<0.01, respectively] following CRP. No significant difference was noted between before and after CRP at rest diastolic BP [69.33 and 68.66 mmHg, p=0.6]. It is concluded that CRP strategies have positive effects on cardiac output, functional capacity and functional class improvement in patients who undergo aortic and/or mitral valve surgery