The Impacts of Cardiac Rehabilitation Program on Exercise Capacity, Quality of Life, and Functional Status of Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction

PURPOSE: To determine the impacts of cardiac rehabilitation on exercise capacity, quality of life (QOL), and functional status in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). DESIGN: Self-controlled clinical trial. METHODS: CAD patients with mild to moderate left ventricular dysfunction participated in an exercise-based rehabilitation program for eight consecutive weeks. Subjects underwent an exercise test before and 8 weeks after rehabilitation. QOL was assessed with the SF-36 questionnaire. Functional status was assessed in terms of sleep time, walking, cycling, exercise, and working duration. FINDINGS: Seventy patients (age=57.5±10.2 years, 77.1% male) were studied. After rehabilitation, peak exercise capacity increased from 8.00±2.56 to 10.08±3.00 METs (p<.001) and exercise duration increased from 14.17±5.27 to 17.21±5.85 minutes (p<.001). Patients' QOL improved in physical and psychological dimensions (p<.05). Cycling, walking, and exercising status significantly increased after the study (p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac rehabilitation improves exercise capacity, QOL, and functional status of CAD patients with mild to moderate left ventricular dysfunction. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Cardiac rehabilitation practitioners should encourage patients to attend to and be compliant in the rehabilitation programs.