title: Six-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial examining hospital versus home-based exercise training after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the long-term effectiveness of hospital versus telephone-monitored home-based exercise training during cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on exercise capacity and habitual physical activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six-year follow-up of patients who participated in a randomised controlled trial of hospital versus monitored home-based exercise training during CR after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outpatient CR centre in Central-South Ontario, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  196 Patients who participated in the original randomised controlled trial and who attended an evaluation 1 year after CR.
  
  
  METHODS
  6 months of home or hospital-based exercise training during CR.
  
  
  METHODS
  Peak oxygen uptake (peak Vo₂), Physical Activity Scale in the Elderly (PASE) to assess habitual activity, semi-structured interviews to assess vital status, demographic and descriptive information.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 196 eligible patients, 144 (75.5%; 74 Hospital, 70 Home) were available for participation. Patients were predominantly male (n = 120; 83.3%) aged 70 ± 9.5 years. Clinical and sociodemographic outcomes were similar in both groups. While exercise performance declined over time, there were significant between-group differences in peak Vo₂) (1506 ± 418 ml/min vs 1393 ± 341 ml/min; p = 0.017) and PASE scores (166.7 ± 90.2 vs 139.7 ± 66.5; p = 0.001) at 6-year follow-up in favour of the home group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Home and hospital-based exercise training maintained exercise capacity above pre-CR levels 6 years after CR. Exercise training initiated in the home environment in low-risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery conferred greater long-term benefit on Vo₂ and persistent physical activity compared with traditional hospital-based CR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Section of Health Promotion Research, Chicago, Illinois, USA. kellys@uic.edu
authors.forename: Kelly M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: McKelvie
authors.forename: Kevin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Arthur
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome