Functional capacity in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting surgery after cardiac rehabilitation program

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the effect of cardiac rehabilitation program on cardiac function and functional capacity in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Forty patients with CABG were included. Thirty patients served as group I and ten patients as group II [control group]. Group I patients were enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation program for 12 weeks. All patients were subjected to functional classification scaling, exercise stress test at the start and at 12 weeks [to detect the metabolic energy times and functional capacity of patients] and echocardiography at the start and at 12 weeks to evaluate the cardiac function. There was no significant difference between patients and controls at the start as regard exercise stress test, left ventricular ejection fraction and functional class. At 12 weeks the exercise stress test results showed a significant increase in exercise duration, METs and VO2 max in group I in comparison to group II, and in group I at 12 weeks in comparison to its initial results. The echocardiography results showed a highly significant difference of LVEF between group I and group II at 12 weeks and in group I at 12 weeks in comparison to the start. Early return to work, at 12 weeks, was noticed in 14 out of 16 male patients [87%] in group I, and two out of five male patients [40%] in group II. Cardiac rehabilitation is an important component of the current interdisciplinary approach to the management of the patients with various presentations of coronary heart disease