Key result
Six-week rehab helps 50% of post-MI patients reach maximal heart rate versus usual care.
Why the study?
Does a 6-week rehabilitation programme improve exercise capacity and reduce mortality or reinfarction in male post-myocardial infarction patients under 65 years old compared to counselling or usual care?
RCT (n=182)
randomized
Does a 6-week rehabilitation programme improve exercise capacity and reduce mortality or reinfarction in male post-myocardial infarction patients under 65 years old compared to counselling or usual care?
A 6-week exercise-based rehabilitation program significantly improves long-term exercise capacity and reduces mortality at 2 years in young male patients following an uncomplicated myocardial infarction.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Should not yet change practice; leaves open whether brief post-MI rehab improves survival beyond counseling or usual care.
One hundred and eighty-two male post myocardial infarction patients under 65 years old were randomized 30 to 60 days after the acute event into a 6-week rehabilitation programme (RP), a counselling programme without exercise training training (CP) and usual care (UC). Follow-up visits and exercise tests on a bicycle ergometer were performed 2, 12 and 24 months after randomization. Baseline characteristics were identical in the three groups. The percentage of patients reaching the maximal heart rate at exercise test was higher in the RP group even after 2 years (UC = 24%, CP = 13%, RP = 50%, P = 0.001). The number of deaths at 2 years was respectively 4, 5 and 0 in the UC, CP and RP groups (P = 0.08). If UC and CP groups are combined and tested against RP the difference is statistically significant (P = 0.03). Reinfarction rates were similar in the three groups (UC = 10%, CP = 7%, RP = 7%). This study confirms that a rehabilitation programme seems worth recommending in young patients with uncomplicated myocardial infarction.
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Leizoroviez et al. (1991) conducted an RCT in acute myocardial infarction (n=182). 6-week rehabilitation programme vs. counselling programme and usual care was evaluated on reaching the maximal heart rate at exercise test at 2 years (p=0.001). A 6-week rehabilitation programme significantly increased the percentage of post-MI patients reaching maximal heart rate at 2 years compared to usual care and counselling (50% vs 24% and 13%, P=0.001).
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