Article

Age-related effects on the ability of 6-min walking test (6MWT) and
ejection fraction (EF) to predict mortality in coronary artery bypass grafting
(CABG) patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is still debated. DESIGN
AND METHODS: In order to verify the role of 6MWT and EF on all-cause mortality in
patients undergoing CR following CABG, 882 CABG patients undergoing CR stratified
in adults (<65 years) and elderly (>/=65 years) were studied. RESULTS: At the
admission, EF was 52.6 +/- 9.1% in adults and 51.3 +/- 8.9% in elderly (p =
0.234, NS) while 6MWT was 343.8 +/- 93.5 m in adults and 258.9 +/- 95.7 m in
elderly (p < 0.001). After 42.9 +/- 14.1 months follow up, mortality was 8.2% in
adults and 10.9% in elderly (p = 0.176, NS). Cox regression analysis shows that
EF >/= 50% and 6MWT >/=300 m are protective on mortality in all CABG patients
before CR. However, EF >/=50% in adults (HR 0.18, 95% CI 0.06-0.49, p < 0.005)
but not in elderly (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.45-3.42, p = 0.354, NS) and 6MWT >/=300 m
in elderly (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.10-0.79, p = 0.033) but not in adults (HR 0.76, 95%
CI 0.31-2.12, p = 0.654, NS) exert a protective role on mortality. CONCLUSIONS:
Our results indicate that both EF >/= 50% and 6MWT >/= 300 m independently
protect against mortality in CABG patients before CR. However, their protective
role is age dependent. In fact, EF >/= 50% is protective in adults but not in
elderly while 6MWT >/= 300 m is protective in elderly but not in adult patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS