Comparison between bicycle ergometric interval and continuous training in patients early after coronary artery bypass grafting: A prospective, randomized study

OBJECTIVES: Continuous and interval training have previously been compared in patients with cardiac diseases. However, data comparing the safety and effectiveness of the two exercise methods are lacking in patients early after coronary artery bypass grafting. METHODS: In all, 120 patients were prospectively randomized in a 1:1 fashion approximately 17 days after coronary artery bypass grafting to an interval group or continuous group. All patients participated in bicycle ergometric training six times/week for 20 min each during a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation program. The combined primary endpoint was safety as defined by incidence of scar pain and cardiac events related to the exercise intervention. Secondary outcomes included the effect of the interventions on parameters such as heart rate and peak power output. RESULTS: Four patients (12.1%) in the interval group reported pain on the saphenectomy scar as a result of the training intervention in comparison to six patients (20.0%) in the continuous group (χ(2) (1, n = 63) = 0.73, p = 0.393). No cardiac events were related to exercise intervention. No effect on heart rate was found during the intervention, nor was a difference observed between the groups. Peak power output, as one of the analyzed markers, improved significantly in both groups, but no differences were found between groups. CONCLUSION: Ergometry training performed as interval or continuous training was safe and effective regarding increase in physical fitness early after coronary artery bypass grafting in an inpatient rehabilitation setting, with no differences observed between the groups.