Cor Vasa 2018, 60(4):e361-e366 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2018.03.005

The long-term effects of individual cardiac rehabilitation in patients with coronary artery disease

Vladimír Kincl^a,*, Roman Panovský^a, Jan Máchal^a,b, Jiří Jančík^c, Pavel Kukla^a, Petr Dobšák^c

^a I. interní kardioangiologická klinika a Mezinárodní centrum klinického výzkumu, Lékařská fakulta Masarykovy univerzity a Fakultní nemocnice u sv. Anny v Brně, Brno, Česká republika

^b Ústav patologické fyziologie, Lékařská fakulta Masarykovy univerzity, Brno, Česká republika

^c Klinika funkční diagnostiky a rehabilitace, Lékařská fakulta Masarykovy univerzity a Fakultní nemocnice u sv. Anny v Brně, Brno, Česká republika

Background: The positive effects of cardiac rehabilitation have been repeatedly described and are well-known over the short- and middle-term periods. However, there is less knowledge about long-term outcomes in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of individual cardiac rehabilitation in patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods: One hundred fifty-two patients with stable coronary artery disease were retrospectively divided into two groups according to their adherence to individual physical activity recommendations, regardless of their participation in guided cardiac rehabilitation training. The IT+ group which participated in individual exercise programs according to recommendations was compared with patients who declined these activities (the IT- group). The median follow-up period was 12.7 years.

Results: The individual training had no long-term effect on survival after being checked for other possible contributing factors, but the multivariate analysis showed a significant association with the occurrence of cardiac events as myocardial infarction, unstable angina, coronary revascularization and hospitalization for heart failure: HR (95% CI) 0.51 (0.30-0.89); p = 0.017.

Conclusion: Home based cardiac rehabilitation and regular physical activity significantly improve long-term cardiac morbidity in patients with coronary artery disease.

Keywords: Cardiac events; Cardiac rehabilitation; Coronary artery disease; Long-term effects

Received: August 19, 2017; Revised: December 5, 2017; Accepted: March 7, 2018; Published: August 1, 2018  Show citation