Cardiac rehabilitation improved oxygen uptake measured by cardiopulmonary exercise test in patients after aortic valve surgery

Evidence for cardiac rehabilitation after valve surgery remains scarce. We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients undergoing aortic valve surgery. The intervention group consisted of physical exercise for 3 months after surgery, while the control group underwent usual care without physical exercise. It was observed that cardiac rehabilitation has a beneficial effect on the peak oxygen uptake compared to the control group (24.2 ml/kg/min vs. 20.6 ml/kg/min) as measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing 3 months after surgery. There was no significant difference observed in New York Heart Association class I or II between groups. Conversely, the intervention group underperformed the SF-36 Mental Component Scale at 3 months (50.3 vs. 53.8 points).