Comparison Of Changes In Exercise Tolerance And Quality Of Life Between Congestive Heart Failure And Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patients Following A Hospital-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Few studies have compared cardiac rehabilitation program outcomes between individuals with congestive heart failure (CHF) and post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), perhaps due to the lack of insurance reimbursement for a CHF diagnosis. Therefore, we examined the exercise tolerance and quality of life outcomes for 56 individuals with CHF (age=73±9 yrs; ejection fraction=34±11%) and 52 individuals post CABG (age=73±7 yrs; ejection fraction=57±10%) following a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program, respectively. Both groups exercised a minimum of 24 sessions over 12-weeks while attending up to 12 educational seminars. Pre- and post- exercise tolerance was measured by a graded treadmill test and quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 Health Survey. Following the 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program there were significant improvements in exercise tolerance in individuals with CHF (163±61 to 251±70 s; p\u3c0.01) and CABG (208±62 to 309±90 s; p\u3c0.01). All nine quality of life constructs improved significantly (p\u3c0.01) within both groups. There were no significant differences in exercise tolerance or quality of life between groups (p=0.17). Furthermore, a positive and significant correlation was found between exercise tolerance and patient perceived physical function (R 2=0.34, p\u3c0.01). The data presented in this study suggest that patients with CHF can safely benefits from cardiac rehabilitation and that their outcomes are similar to patients post CABG