title: Cardiac Rehabilitation After Heart Valve Surgery: COMPARISON WITH CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT PATIENTS.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) experience improvements in aerobic fitness, but there has been little study of outcomes for heart valve (HV) surgical patients. The primary aims of this study were to evaluate baseline peak aerobic capacity for HV patients participating in CR and to compare outcomes between HV and CABG patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred seventy-six consecutive patients who underwent HV surgery (n = 125), HV plus CABG surgery (n = 57), or CABG surgery (n = 394), all with classic sternotomy and enrolled in CR, were prospectively studied. Changes in outcomes were assessed for individuals who completed CR (n = 313).
  
  
  RESULTS
  HV patients were significantly older and had a greater percentage of females than the CABG-only group. Combining HV and HV + CABG groups, valvular disorders included 134 mitral, 39 aortic, and 8 combined abnormalities (mitral and aortic). For the entire cohort, the mean number of CR exercise sessions attended was 23.6 ± 11.7. Peak oxygen uptake ((Equation is included in full-text article.)) increased 19.5% from 17.4 ± 4.4 to 20.8 ± 5.5 mLO2·kg(-1)·min(-1) (P < .0001). Improvement in peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)with CR exercise training was similar between the 3 groups of patients. Within the group of patients who had HV surgery, percentage change in peak (Equation is included in full-text article.)was not significantly different between the 3 types of valvular abnormalities (ie, mitral [19.2%], aortic [24.4%], and mitral + aortic [21.9%]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HV surgery patients achieve similar improvement in aerobic fitness from participating in CR exercise training as individuals who had CABG. The observed improvements in aerobic fitness are similar, regardless of the type of valve abnormality or whether CABG was performed concurrently.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention, Division of Cardiology, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Patrick D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Jason L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rengo
authors.forename: Keon E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Menzies
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ades
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies