Short-term cardiac rehabilitation boosts physical performance among elderly CVD patients

Short-term cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is effective at improving physical function among frail elderly patients of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), a recent study has found. Longer durations of CR may also be beneficial for exercise capacity.

Eighty-nine CVD (aged ≥65 years; 68 men) participated in an outpatient CR programme for 3 months. Before and after CR, participants underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing, along with frailty assessment using the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study Standard.

Prior to CR, 23 patients were deemed to be frail and the other 66 were not: 10 were robust and 56 were pre-frail.

CR improved laboratory measures in both groups but had a much stronger effect among nonfrail participants. For example, where levels of brain natriuretic peptide dropped significantly among non-frail participants (128±140 to 94±114 pg/mL; p=0.044), it only did so marginally in the frail group (133±131 to 113±91; p=0.115).

Nutritional status, as measured according to the controlling nutritional status tool, was likewise significantly improved only in the nonfrail (p<0.001) and not in the frail (p=0.157) group.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing also revealed that CR was significantly beneficial for the nonfrail participants, who saw a significant drop in resting heart rate (71±13 to 69±13 bpm; p=0.02). No such effect was reported for the frail group.

Both groups also saw significant improvements in physical function parameters such as usual walking speed, maximal grip strength, and lower extremity muscle strength.

CR bore no significant impacts on other exercise outcomes, including anaerobic threshold and peak respiratory exchange ratio.