title: Effect of total hip arthroplasty on cardiovascular fitness.
abstract: Thirty patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty and 18 patients with medically treated arthritis participated in this study. Both groups of patients underwent a cardiovascular fitness exercise test on entering the study and 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years later. Fitness was assessed by patient performance on a graded maximal exercise test using a bicycle ergometer and metabolic cart. In the group of total hip arthroplasty patients, significant improvements in exercise duration (P = .011), maximum workload (P = .0013), peak oxygen consumption (P = .0036), and percentage of predicted maximum oxygen uptake achieved (P = .0002) were observed during the follow-up evaluation. In the group of control patients, decreases in exercise duration (P = .0001), maximum workload (P = .0001), and workload at anaerobic threshold (P = .0108) occurred without a significant change in the other measures of cardiovascular fitness. The results indicate that resumption of routine physical activities after total hip arthroplasty is associated with a corresponding improvement in cardiovascular fitness.
authors.affiliation: Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, New York 13326, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ries
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Philbin
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Groff
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sheesley
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Richman
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint; D008297:Male; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000503:physiopathology; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness