Article

Older patients who receive postacute cardiac rehabilitation improve
their physical performance in terms of distance walked at the 6-min walk test.
However, the slower and more complicated recovery, along with age-related chronic
comorbidities, remarkably limits the intensity of aerobic training, which
actually represents the core of cardiac rehabilitation. The aim of this study was
to verify whether postacute cardiac rehabilitation also improves the
cardiovascular adjustment to exercise, despite low-intensity aerobic training.
DESIGN: : Using a portable gas analyzer, we assessed the O2 uptake kinetics
during the 6-min walk test at the beginning and at the end of the rehabilitation
in 84 patients aged 65 yrs and above. RESULTS: : All patients significantly
improved the distance walked at the 6-min walk test. The comparison of the time
constants of O2 uptake kinetics showed that 40% of patients also significantly
improved the hemodynamic response to exercise. This improvement was independently
associated with the report of sedentary lifestyle or low-intensity physical
activity in the year before surgery and with longer time constants before
physical training. CONCLUSIONS: : Low-intensity aerobic training improves the
cardiovascular adjustment to exercise selectively in patients with physical
deconditioning. This confirms the notion that elderly frail patients are those
who benefit most from cardiac rehabilitation.

Langue : ANGLAIS