Maria Weymans | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

A Java software for calculating mean breath-by-breath variability in gas exchange parameters: application in young cardiac patients with exercise-related periodic breathing.

Oscillatory changes in parameters of gas exchange have been reported during rest and exercise in cardiac patients with severely depressed left ventricular function. As a result of the growing interest in this oscillatory phenomenon, several methods for assessment of this ventilatory response have been presented in cardiovascular research. Nowadays, objective measurement becomes more important. Therefore, the software reported in this study is based on calculating the mean breath-by-breath variability in respiratory variables and has the advantage that patients can be compared to normal controls. This Java-based software is available for public download under: http://www.perswww.kuleuven.ac.be/Steven_Vangesselen

Belgium↗

PubMed2004

Cardiac rehabilitation reduces the rate of major adverse cardiac events after percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Despite multiple publications on effects of rehabilitation in cardiac patients, rehabilitation is not fully known to be of value in post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients. AIMS: To investigate the influence of cardiac rehabilitation on the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in post-PCI patients. METHODS: Retrospectively and nonrandomized 140 post-PCI patients (107 males, mean age 62 (7) years) participated in a 3-month rehabilitation program, starting 2 weeks post-PCI, while 83 post-PCI patients (54 males, mean age 68 (8) years) did not and were all followed up for 15 months. Data on cardiac medication prescription and incidence of MACE (including angina pectoris with or without reintervention, restenosis, myocardial infarction, revascularisation with re-PCI or CABG, and death) were collected. The relationship with cardiovascular risk factors including sex, smoking behaviour, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, familiar predisposition, and hypercholesterolemia was analysed. RESULTS: The incidence of total MACE in the rehabilitation group is significantly lower than in the control group (24% vs. 42%, respectively; P<0.005). The incidence of documented restenosis, angina pectoris with resulting reintervention, all revascularisations, and death is significantly lower in the rehabilitation group, compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The incidence of MACE and restenosis is significantly lower when PCI patients are included in a cardiac rehabilitation program.

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