Phase II cardiac rehabilitation improves quality of life in Iranian patients after CABG

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a phase II cardiac rehabilitation programme on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains in cardiac patients following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The study looked at post-CABG patients of Iranian origin who had been admitted to the Tehran Heart Center, Iran. Forty-four patients aged between 40-60 years, participated in the programme, 4-5 weeks after CABG. The SF-36 Health Survey was used to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains before and after the programme, and at 3-month follow-up. The data were then compared with corresponding values for 882 healthy Iranian individuals of similar ages from the general population. The programme was safe and well-tolerated. The mean scores for all patients showed significant gains in all HRQoL domains, both at last exercise session and follow-up. Compared with mean scores at the last exercise session, the values at follow-up remained essentially unchanged in five domains. There were further significant gains in the mean scores for Role physical, Role Emotion and Bodily Pain at follow-up. The results suggest that the programme produced significant short-term and long-term improvements in physical, mental and emotional aspects of the patients' quality of life in this patients Further research is needed to correlate the values of the SF-36 scores with clinical outcomes, and to investigate the mechanisms by which the programme is effective.