In-hospital cardiac rehabilitation improves exercise capacity after cardiac surgery / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effect of an in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation program on exercise capacity after cardiac surgery.Methods Forty-two patients with valvular heart disease or coronary heart disease were recruited and randomly divided into a rehabilitation group (n=22) and a control group (n=20).Both groups were given preoperative education and breathing guidance on the basis of conventional clinical treatment,but the rehabilitation group was also provided with in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation after the operation.The two-minute stepping test (2-MST) and the left ventricular ejection fraction test (LVEF) were performed before and after the intervention for both groups.Their hospital stays were also compared.One month after discharge,the exercise capacity of both groups was followed-up by telephone using the Veterans-specific Activity Questionnaire (VSAQ).Results After the intervention,there was no significant difference in average LVEF between the two groups (53.73±9.29％ and 56.25± 11.01％ respectively).The average 2-MST stepping frequency of the rehabilitation group was significantly greater than the control group (79.41± 10.99 times and 71.25± 14.21 times respectively,P＜0.05).One month after discharge,the exercise capacity of the rehabilitation group was also significantly higher than the control group for (5.77± 1.46 METs versus 4.75± 1.34 METs,P＜0.05).Stepping frequency at discharge and exercise capacity at one month after discharge were both positively correlated to 2-MST stepping frequency at admission(r =0.869,P＜0.01;r=0.752,P＜O.01).The average hospital stay of the rehabilitation group was significantly shorter (by about 3 days) than the control group (15.59±3.08 days versus 18.45±3.63 days,P＜0.01).Conclusions In-hospital cardiac rehabilitation can significantly improve exercise capacity after cardiac surgery and reduce the length of hospital stays.The 2-minute step test is a simple and practical way to assess the exercise capacity of patients early after cardiac surgery.