What does this research mean for the field?

Male sex and higher levels of preoperative physical activity are significantly associated with greater readiness to exercise three months after cardiac surgery. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine patients' readiness to exercise three months after cardiac surgery in Greece and identify clinical and demographic predictors of their readiness.

July 8, 2026HealthcareOpen Access

Patients’ Readiness to Exercise After Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Center Observational Study

Q: What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cross-Sectional. Population: Post-cardiac surgery (n=98). Intervention: High levels of preoperative physical activity vs. Low levels of preoperative physical activity. Primary outcome: Readiness for exercise (classified in the action stage) (OR 7.4, 95% CI 2.1-26.0, p=0.002).

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Key result

High preoperative physical activity is linked to ~7-fold higher exercise readiness after cardiac surgery.

OR 7.4
95% CI 2.1-26.0
P=0.002
n=98

Why the study?

Prolonged bed rest following cardiothoracic surgery is associated with many deteriorations, prompting this evaluation of patients' readiness to exercise after cardiac surgery in Greece.

Population

98 patients who underwent cardiac surgery in Greece

Design

Single-center cross-sectional observational study

Follow-up

3 months after surgery

Authors

EAEleni AnagnostopoulouNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens KGKonstantinos GiakoumidakisMediterranean University ACAnastasia A. ChatziefstratiouChildren's Hospital Agia Sophia

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

High preoperative activity was associated with post-cardiac surgery exercise readiness; hypothesis-generating for prehabilitation trials.

Key Points

To examine patients' readiness to exercise three months after cardiac surgery in Greece and identify clinical and demographic predictors of their readiness.
Conducted a cross-sectional observational study enrolling 98 patients who underwent cardiac surgery between April and August 2024.
Assessed readiness for exercise three months postoperatively via telephone interviews using the 13-item Greek version of the Readiness to Change Exercise Questionnaire across four subscales: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action.
Collected demographic and clinical variables from medical records and analyzed associations using multivariable logistic regression in IBM SPSS 21.0.
Across the cohort, 53.1% of patients were in the action subscale, 24.5% in preparation, 11.2% in contemplation, and 11.2% in pre-contemplation.
Male patients were significantly more likely to be ready for exercise than female patients (OR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.0–10.4, p = 0.042).
Compared with low preoperative physical activity, moderate activity (OR = 5.2, 95% CI 1.4–18.7, p = 0.012) and high activity (OR = 7.4, 95% CI 2.1–26.0, p = 0.002) were independently associated with greater exercise readiness.

Study Design

Type

Cross-Sectional (n=98)

Multicenter

Structured PICO

Population

98 adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery within the previous three months, assessed for readiness to exercise.

Outcome

Readiness to exercise assessed via the Greek version of the 'Readiness to Change Exercise Questionnaire' at 3 months post-surgerypatient reported

Main Result

Odds Ratio: 7.4 (95% CI 2.1–26)

p-value: p=0.002

Approximately half of patients demonstrate readiness to exercise three months after cardiac surgery, with male sex and higher preoperative physical activity levels being significant predictors of readiness.

Limitations

Conducted in a single cardiac surgery center, limiting generalizability.
Relatively small sample size with no a priori power calculation.
Data collected through telephone interviews, introducing possible recall bias and socially desirable responses.
Cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences.
High participant attrition rate (approximately 30%) during follow-up, introducing potential selection bias.
Readiness for exercise was assessed only once, three months after surgery, with no baseline assessment.
Single cardiac surgery center
Relatively small sample size with no a priori power calculation
Telephone interviews introducing recall bias and socially desirable responses
Cross-sectional design does not allow causal inferences
High participant attrition rate (~30%) during follow-up

Cite This Study

Anagnostopoulou et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Post-cardiac surgery (n=98). High levels of preoperative physical activity vs. Low levels of preoperative physical activity was evaluated on Readiness for exercise (classified in the action stage) (OR 7.4, 95% CI 2.1-26.0, p=0.002). Compared with patients with low levels of preoperative physical activity, those with high levels of physical activity were significantly more likely to be ready for exercise 3 months after cardiac surgery (OR 7.4).

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a4de976d2ea289ef6283a31 https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14132012

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Patients’ Readiness to Exercise After Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Center Observational Study

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Patients’ Readiness to Exercise After Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Center Observational Study

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider