Improvement of cardiorespiratory function after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a 3-mo training program for patients with either a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or a coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).


METHODS
Forty-four patients participated in a 3-mo outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. Graded exercise tests with gas analysis were conducted before and after training to evaluate the changes of cardiorespiratory function.


RESULTS
In the pretraining examination, the PTCA group showed a higher peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and work rate than the CABG group. In the posttraining examination, the PTCA group increased 14.6% in VO2peak. Meanwhile, the CABG group increased 32.8% in VO2peak. At the ventilatory threshold, both groups also significantly increased in Vo2.


CONCLUSIONS
A 3-mo cardiac rehabilitation program for patients with PTCA or CABG could favorably enhance their cardiorespiratory function. Although the pretraining VO2peak was lower for the patients with CABG, their training potential was greater, and hence they could achieve a similar level of aerobic capacity as the PTCA group.
Lan
Ching
C
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chen
Ssu-Yuan
SY
Hsu
Chen-Jung
CJ
Chiu
Shu-Fen
SF
Lai
Jin-Shin
JS
D000328:Adult; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy; D005080:Exercise Test; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors