Inspiratory Muscle and Functional Performance of Patients Entering Cardiac Rehabilitation after Cardiac Valve Replacement

Limited research has examined inspiratory muscle performance (IMP) and functional performance (FP) of patients after valve replacement surgery (VRS). The purpose of this study was to examine IMP as well as several measures of FP in patients post-VRS. The study results of 27 patients revealed that patients undergoing transcatheter VRS were significantly (p = 0.01) older than patients undergoing minimally invasive or median sternotomy VRS with the median sternotomy VRS group performing significantly (p < 0.05) better than the transcatheter VRS group in the 6-min walk test, 5x sit-to-stand test, and sustained maximal inspiratory pressure. The 6-min walk test and IMP measures in all groups were significantly (p < 0.001) lower than predicted values. Significant (p < 0.05) relationships were found between IMP and FP with greater IMP being associated with greater FP. Pre-operative and early post-operative rehabilitation may improve IMP and FP post-VRS.