Effects of cardiac rehabilitation on the functional capacity of hypertensive elderly people in primary care

Background Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a comprehensive and multidisciplinary intervention that improves functional capacity (FC), quality of life (QOL) and reduces morbidity and mortality of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Improving exercise tolerance is an important outcome of cardiac rehabilitation for both patients and clinicians. Purpose The objective of this study was to investigate the benefits of CR program in hypertensive elderly people. Methods The sample consisted of 40 hypertension elderly randomized into two groups: control group (CG) with 20 patients and rehabilitation group (RG) with 20 patients. Functional capacity assessment was performed using the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT), and 1-min sit-to-stand test (1-MSTS). Patients were submitted to a supervised exercise program lasting 90 minutes, twice a week, for a period of 16 weeks. Each session consisted of a warm-up phase (10 minutes), conditioning (60 minutes), calm down (10 minutes) and health education (10 minutes). The CG maintained its usual activities. At the end of 16 weeks, the elderly underwent a reassessment on the ISWT and 1-MSTS. Results The sample was predominantly female (66%), with a mean age of 66.0 (±5.6) years in RG and 70.5 (±7.2) years in CG. Functional assessments at the end of CR showed a statistically significant improvement in 1-min sit-to-stand test (p<0.001) and on distance travelled (p<0.001), VO2est (p<0.001) in ISWT (table 1). The mean improvement was 78.5m after rehabilitation (p<0.001 pre/post), which was an important clinical difference. During the CR period, no complications prevented the completion of the protocol. Conclusion CR is well tolerated, safe and significantly improves functional capacity on hypertensive elderly people in primary care.