Exercise training following cardiovascular surgery.

Abstract

The patient following cardiovascular surgery is a special, and probably somewhat easier, problem for the rehabilitation team than post-MI or angina patients. These patients may generally be viewed as somewhat more stable than post-MI patients. Rehabilitation thus focuses on minimization of bed rest, treatment of the sequale of sternotomy, and surveillance for new or changing medical problems. Physiological adaptations to training are likely to parallel those observed with post-MI patients, except that evidence of improved myocardial perfusion is less likely to be observed. Although GXT may be useful to evaluate progress in rehabilitation, it is unlikely to yield meaningful information regarding the adequacy of the surgical result. The possibility for exercise programs/risk factor modification as a vehicle for secondary prevention following CABGS is about as likely, and as well supported by the available literature, as it is following MI. Secondary prevention studies following other types of cardiovascular surgery are not available.