Objective To examine the impact of telerehabilitation training on exercise capacity, lung function, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in comparison to no rehabilitation for post-COVID-19 symptoms in adult females.
Methods A randomized controlled trial of 48 females after mild to moderate COVID-19 survival were equally and randomly assigned to one of two groups: intervention group or control group. Three sessions per week for 6 weeks of a telerehabilitation program provided via a smartphone to the intervention group. Spirometry was used to quantify lung function, a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) measured in meters to measure exercise capacity, and the Short Form Health Survey-36 was used to assess HRQOL.
Results After treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in forced vital capacity (FVC) or forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) between groups (p>0.05), but the 6MWT of the intervention group increased significantly more than that of the control group (p=0.001). The percent of change in 6MWT for the intervention group and control group was 14.22% and 4.21%, respectively. After therapy, the intervention group’s HRQOL significantly improved when compared to the control group’s (p=0.001).
Conclusion This study showed that a telerehabilitation programs improved exercise capacity and HRQOL in young females post-COVID-19 compared to no rehabilitation.
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Objective To test the hypothesis that a longer duration of phase II cardiac rehabilitation is required to recover the exercise capacity of elderly patients compared to younger patients.
Methods We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the medical records of patients who were referred to our cardiac rehabilitation (CR) center and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A total of 70 patients were enrolled who underwent an exercise tolerance test (ETT) 3 weeks after the occurrence of an AMI (T0), 6 weeks after the first ETT (T1), and 12 weeks after the first ETT (T2). Patients older than 65 years were assigned to the elderly group (n=24) and those aged 65 years and younger to the younger group (n=46). Both groups performed center-based or home-based CR for 12 weeks (3 times per week and 1 session per day). Exercise intensity for each individual was based on the target heart rate calculated by the Karvonen formula. The change in maximal metabolic equivalents (METmax) of the two groups was measured at each assessment point (T0, T1, and T2) to investigate the recovery of exercise capacity.
Results The younger group showed improvement in METmax between T0 and T1. However, METmax of the elderly group showed no significant improvement between T0 and T1. The exercise capacity, measured with METmax, of all groups showed improvement between T0 and T2.
Conclusion Elderly patients with AMI need a longer duration of CR (>6 weeks) than younger patients with AMI.
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Community-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Conducted in a Public Health Center in South Korea: A Preliminary Study Sora Baek, Yuncheol Ha, Jaemin Mok, Hee-won Park, Hyo-Rim Son, Mi-Suk Jin Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2020; 44(6): 481. CrossRef
Objective: To compare the exercise capacity after cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in patients with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Method: 27 patients who underwent PCI and 18 patients who underwent CABG surgery were included. All the subjects performed supervised exercise training for 6∼8 weeks at hospital and self-exercise at community for additional 16~18 weeks. Exercise capacity was measured by symptom limited graded exercise tests at study entry and 6 months later. Results: After 6 months of CR, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) was significantly increased, resting heart rate (HR) and submaximal rate pressure product (RPP) were significantly decreased in both groups (p＜0.05). There were no significant change of maximal HR in both groups (p＜0.05). Maximal RPP in CABG increased significantly (p＜0.05) but did not change significantly in PCI group. Resting HR was significantly higher, VO2max was significantly lower in CABG group than PCI group at study entry (p＜0.05). Resting HR was not significantly different in both groups but, VO2max was still lower in CABG group than PCI group even after 6 months of CR (p＜0.05). Conclusion: The cardiac rehabilitation program was effective in both PCI and CABG group. Although VO2max in PCI group was higher than CABG group after 6 month CR, the range of improvement was greater in CABG group than PCI group. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2008; 32: 437-442)
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on the exercise capacity and secondary prevention in coronary artery obstructive disease (CAOD). Method: CR group of 48 CAOD patients had underwent regularly supervised exercise training for 6∼8 weeks as well as home exercise continued for 1 year. CR group was advised to control their risk factors by nutrition counsel, abstaining from smoking and reducing their weight. Control group of 16 CAOD patients did not participate in the CR program. Two groups were evaluated for their exercise capacity and risk factors at baseline and after 1 year. Results: CR group showed significantly higher maximal oxygen consumption, maximal rate pressure product and ratings of perceived exertion at stage 3 compared with control group (p＜0.05). The number of risk factors per person after 1 year in both groups was significantly lower than baseline (p＜0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: CR program can improve the exercise capacity and level of risk factor in CAOD patients. Therefore, CR program is recommended for helping CAOD patients improve their functional capacity and reduce the possibility of recurrence. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2006; 30: 74-79)
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