Abstract
Objective
To assess the effects of an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programme on daily physical activity levels of patients following myocardial infarction.
Design
Subanalysis of two randomised, prospective controlled trials.
Setting
Outpatient clinic of a secondary hospital.
Participants
Fifty consecutive patients randomised to the exercise group {n = 25; 23 males; mean age 54 [standard deviation (SD) 9] years} or the control group [n = 25; 20 males; mean age 58 (SD 9) years].
Interventions
The exercise group participated in an 8-week aerobic exercise programme plus usual medical care and follow-up. The control group received usual medical care and follow-up.
Main outcome measures
The primary outcome measure was change in time spent undertaking moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, assessed by accelerometer over 7 consecutive days. Secondary outcome measures were cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass, and resting blood pressure and heart rate.
Results
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels increased significantly in the exercise group [43.2 (SD 36.3) to 53.5 (SD 31.9) minutes/day, P = 0.030], and remained unchanged in the control group [40.8 (SD 26.2) to 36.8 (SD 26.5) minutes/day, P = 0.241] from baseline to the end of the programme. Cardiorespiratory fitness increased significantly in the exercise group (mean difference 2.8; 95% of the difference 1.3 to 4.4 ml/kg/minute, P = 0.001) after the 8-week programme.
Conclusions
In patients under optimal medication following myocardial infarction, participation in an 8-week exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programme was found to improve physical activity levels consistent with health-related benefits. Future studies are needed to determine whether the increase in physical activity is maintained in the long term.
Citation
Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation increases daily physical activity of patients following myocardial infarction: subanalysis of two randomised controlled trials, Ribeiro, F. et al.