TITLE:
Effects of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease
AUTHORS:
Nathalie Dedieu, Luis Fernández, Elvira Garrido-Lestache, Inmaculada Sánchez, Maria Jesus Lamas
KEYWORDS:
Congenital Heart Disease; Exercise Test; Quality of Life
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Internal Medicine,
Vol.4 No.1,
March
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: The beneficial effects of the programs of
cardiac rehabilitation in adults are widely known. Nevertheless, the accomplishment
of these programs in patients with congenital heart is scarcely developed. In
this study, we want to evaluate the preliminary results of
a program of cardiac rehabilitation. Patients
and methods: Thirty-three patients aged 8 to 40 completed the
rehabilitation program. Thirty-one of them had an operated congenital heart
disease, one had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and another was a
patient with arterial hypertension and obesity. Data before and after the
program were compared. Results:
Improvements were found in all of the measured parameters. We found a
statistically significant difference in maximum heart rate, exercise duration,
foreseen heart rate’s percentage and increase of metabolic equivalents. Twenty-seven of 33 patients noticed a significant improvement
in their quality of life at the end of the program. Conclusion: Initial results seem to be encouraging and we consider
the experience very positive since the program achieved an improvement in the
functional capacity of our patients. In our opinion, these observations and the
results of our study provide strong arguments for the incorporation of cardiac
rehabilitation into the care of many patients with congenital heart disease.