Cardiac rehabilitation: evidence for improvement in myocardial perfusion and function.
Sixteen patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) were studied with rest and exercise thallium scans and gated radionuclide ventriculography before and after 3 to 12 months of exercise training. The 5 patients presented in this report showed improvement in both the ejection fraction and exercise thallium images after training while achieving a higher maximal workload and an equivalent double product. These radionuclide techniques have provided the 1st documentation of improvement in both myocardial perfusion and function in CHD patients after exercise training. A controlled study using advances in imaging technology with patients matched according to postmyocardial infarction time and by the severity of disease is underway to confirm these findings.
D000328:Adult; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005082:Physical Exertion