Article

The cardiovascular disease risk profile and exercise capacity of
coronary heart disease patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) were measured
and compared with those of nondiabetic (NDM) patients before and after a 6-week
multidisciplinary cardiac rehabilitation program. METHODS: Subjects included 413
patients with DM (56.9 +/- 7.9 years) and 614 patients with NDM (56.8 +/- 10.3
years). RESULTS: At program entry, DM patients had a higher prevalence of risk
factors (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, obesity,
excess abdominal fat, and depression), had a lower peak oxygen uptake (14.3 +/-
4.4 vs 16.6 +/- 5.4 mL . kg . min; P < .001), and covered a shorter distance in
the 6-minute walk test (404 +/- 117 m vs 445 +/- 116 m; P < .001) than NDM
patients. At the end of the exercise program, all patients achieved significant
improvements in physical capacity, which were similar in DM and NDM patients
(+27.6 +/- 28.2% vs +30.5 +/- 27.7% for peak oxygen uptake and +21.0 +/- 31.5% vs
+21.3 +/- 53.2% for the 6-minute distance test). CONCLUSION: DM patients with
coronary heart disease had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk
factors as well as lower physical capacity than NDM patients at the beginning of
rehabilitation. All patients demonstrated improvement in exercise capacity after
rehabilitation. More importantly, the extent of the improvement was similar in DM
and NDM patients. This study, which involved a large population, emphasizes the
capacity of DM patients to fully benefit from a multidisciplinary risk factor
management program, including exercise training and educational programs.

Langue : ANGLAIS