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To survey the cardiovascular complications induced by cardiac monitoring exercise during 10 years of our cardiac rehabilitation (CR) clinic and report on the safety of monitoring exercise training for early hospital-based CR.
All cardiac patients who participated in our exercise program from January 2000 through December 2009 were recruited as study subjects. We stratified the exercise risks of cardiac events and conducted the monitoring exercise with individualized prescriptions. We measured all cardiac complications, including death, symptoms, abnormal hemodynamic responses, and electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormality during exercise training, for 10 years. A total of 975 patients (68% male; mean age, 58.9±10.6) were included in this study. Initial indications for CR were recent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) (75%), post-cardiac surgery (coronary bypass graft, 13.2%), valvular surgery and other cardiac surgery (4.2%), and others (7.6%).
The study population underwent 13,934 patient-hours of monitoring exercise. No death, cardiac arrest or acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occurred during exercise (0/13,934 exercise-hours). Fifty-nine patients experienced 70 cardiovascular events during the 13,934 exercise-hours (1/199 exercise-hours); there were 17 cases of angina only (1/820 exercise-hours), 31 cases of ECG abnormalities only (1/449 exercise-hours), 12 cases of angina with ECG abnormalities (1/1,161 exercise-hours), and 10 cases of abnormal hemodynamic responses (1/1,393 exercise-hours).
Early hospital-based CR is safe enough that no death, cardiac arrest or AMI occurred during the 13,934 patient-hours of monitoring exercise. However, risk stratification for exercise-induced cardiovascular events, proper exercise prescriptions, and intensive ECG monitoring are required prior to initiation of the monitoring exercise.
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To evaluate the effects of power walking (PW) training on a treadmill in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and to compare the cardiovascular effects of PW with usual walking (UW).
Patients were recruited as participants in phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation program after receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to acute coronary syndrome from our hospital. The participants were divided into the PW group (n=16) and UW group (n=18). All participants received graded exercise test (GXT) and significant difference in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2Max) was not observed between the groups. Aerobic exercise training on treadmill was given for 50 minutes per session, three times a week, for six weeks. Physiological and hematological parameters were tested before and 6 weeks after the cardiac rehabilitation program. Exercise duration, VO2Max, heart rate, blood pressure, and rate pressure product were evaluated through graded exercise test. Hematological measurements included serum lipid profile, and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP).
There were no significant differences in resting heart rate, maximal heart rate, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures, lipid profile, hs-CRP, VO2Max, and RPP between the PW group and UW group. However, after 6 weeks of the intervention, VO2Max in the PW group (36.03±5.69 ml/kg/min) was significantly higher than that in the UW group (29.73±5.63 ml/kg/min) (p<0.05).
After six weeks of phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation program, the PW group showed significant improvement in VO2Max than the UW group. Thus, it will beneficial to recommend power walking in cardiac rehabilitation program.
Citations