Scientists reveal a beneficial exercise for heart attack patients

The benefits of cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack may seem obvious, but previous studies have provided surprisingly disappointing results for the practice.
Now, a new analysis offers definitive proof for heart attack patients or those who have undergone procedures to remove blockages: Cardiac rehabilitation saves lives and keeps people out of the hospital, regardless of their age, gender, education level, income level or race, according to medicalxpress.com. .
In their study published in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, the researchers showed that less than 10% of patients with cardiovascular disease who have the ability participate in cardiac rehabilitation, but those who have the ability to do so have a lower rate of 43% lower rate of death or hospital readmission compared to those who did not.
Obstacles to previous studies
“Our study shows that, no matter who your patient is, what clinical characteristics they have, what type of intervention they need to clear the blockage, if you send them to a cardiac rehabilitation center, the benefit is much greater,” said Brian Dosha, the study's lead author, an exercise physiologist. As previous studies have shown.”
Dosha and his colleagues, including senior author William Krause, a professor of cardiology in the Department of Medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, added that previous studies on the impact of cardiac rehabilitation had limitations that skewed the results. It is worth noting that these studies often included all heart patients discharged from the hospital, including those with frailties or conditions that required them to live in a facility without access to rehabilitation centers, or those who lived very far from a rehabilitation center. Available rehabilitation, which excludes their participation in the rehabilitation program.
Rehabilitation keeps people out of the hospital
The research team analyzed the health records of 2,641 hospitalized patients with coronary artery disease. All were considered capable of cardiac rehabilitation given the distance or location of rehabilitation. Patients included were those with myocardial infarction and/or those with obstructions requiring stenting or surgery.
Patients going to acute nursing care, those who had valve replacements and those who received heart transplants or lived more than 50 miles from a rehabilitation center were excluded. The researchers took demographics, comorbidities, and medical treatments into account in their analysis.
“Not controlling for all of these factors may explain the inconsistent results of previous studies that evaluated the effect of cardiac rehabilitation on clinical outcomes,” Dosha adds.
The researchers found that only about 8% (214) of eligible patients discharged from hospital actually participated in at least one session of cardiac rehabilitation. However, 93% of participants attended five or more sessions.
“Most importantly, attending even five sessions equates to a significant 10% reduction in the risk of readmission to hospital or death,” Dosha emphasizes.
Kraus added that for every session a patient attended, the risk of death or re-treatment decreased by 2%.
“The bottom line: Cardiac rehabilitation works,” Cross concludes. “It keeps people out of the hospital, which saves money and lives. So why wouldn’t you do it?”