The Impacts of Cardiac Rehabilitation Program on Exercise Capacity, Quality of Life, and Functional Status of Coronary Artery Disease Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction Publisher Pubmed



Sadeghi M¹ ; Garakyaraghi M² ; Taghavi M³ ; Khosravi M³ ; Sarrafzadegan N³ ; Roohafza H⁴ Show Affiliations
Source: Rehabilitation Nursing Published:2015

Abstract

Purpose To determine the impacts of cardiac rehabilitation on exercise capacity, quality of life (QOL), and functional status in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Design Self-controlled clinical trial. Methods CAD patients with mild to moderate left ventricular dysfunction participated in an exercise-based rehabilitation program for eight consecutive weeks. Subjects underwent an exercise test before and 8 weeks after rehabilitation. QOL was assessed with the SF-36 questionnaire. Functional status was assessed in terms of sleep time, walking, cycling, exercise, and working duration. Findings Seventy patients (age = 57.5 ± 10.2 years, 77.1% male) were studied. After rehabilitation, peak exercise capacity increased from 8.00 ± 2.56 to 10.08 ± 3.00 METs (p <.001) and exercise duration increased from 14.17 ± 5.27 to 17.21 ± 5.85 minutes (p <.001). Patients' QOL improved in physical and psychological dimensions (p <.05). Cycling, walking, and exercising status significantly increased after the study (p <.05). Conclusions Cardiac rehabilitation improves exercise capacity, QOL, and functional status of CAD patients with mild to moderate left ventricular dysfunction. Clinical Relevance Cardiac rehabilitation practitioners should encourage patients to attend to and be compliant in the rehabilitation programs. © 2014 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.