An observational study substantiating the statistical significance of cardiopulmonary exercise with laboratory tests during the acute and subacute phases of center and home-based cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can improve clinical indicators in patients with cardiovascular diseases. The literature reports a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 27% reduction in heart-disease mortality following CR. Although its clinical efficacy has been established, there is uncertainty whether center-based (CBCR) is more effective than home-based (HBCR) programs in acute and subacute phases. We aimed to verify significant differences in their effectiveness for the improvement of cardiopulmonary function by analyzing cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) with laboratory tests following both CR programs. A single-center cohort study of 37 patients, recently diagnosed with underlying cardiovascular diseases, underwent CBCR(18) and HBCR(19). CBCR group performed a supervised exercise regimen at the CR center, for 1 hour, 2 to 3 days a week, for a total of 12 to18 weeks. HBCR group completed a self-monitored exercise program at home under the same guidelines as CBCR. Participants were evaluated by CPX with laboratory tests at 1- and 6-month, following the respective programs. There was no statistical significance in clinical characteristics and laboratory findings. Pre–post treatment comparison showed significant improvement in VO2/kg, minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production slope, breathing reserve, tidal volume (VT), heart rate recovery, oxygen consumption per heart rate, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), LDL/HDL ratio, total cholesterol, ejection fraction (EF) (P < .05). CBCR approach showed greater improvement with significance in VO2/kg, metabolic equivalents, and EF on between groups analysis (P < .05). The time effect of CPX test and laboratory data showed improvement in cardiopulmonary function and serum indicators for both groups. VO2/kg, metabolic equivalents, and EF were among the variables that showed significant differences between groups. In the acute and subacute phases of 1 to 6 months, the CBCR group showed a greater cardiac output improvement than the HBCR group.