Effectiveness of Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme on Cardiovascular Endurance in Patients Attending Cardiology Unit, National Hospital, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in low- and middle-income countries. Cardiovascular diseases caused 34% of total deaths in 2016 in Sri Lanka. Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) programme is the medically supervised way to achieve significant decreases in mortality and morbidity in CVD patients through a structured exercise programme. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the CR programme on cardiovascular endurance (CVE) in patients attending the Cardiology unit, National Hospital, Sri Lanka. A Retrospective Study was conducted from 1st of January 2020 to 31st of December 2020 with 89 clinically diagnosed post-op cardiovascular disease patients (Females-19, Males- 67) within the age group of 30 – 70. All the patients were referred to the CR programme at the Cardiology unit, National Hospital, Sri Lanka. CVE was measured by the 6-Minute Walk Test (6-MWT). Measurements of 6-MWT were taken by a qualified physiotherapist of the Cardiology Unit and recorded data of the 6-MWT were used for the study. The distance walked in 6-MWT before attending to the CR programme and after attending the CR programme was compared using a paired sample t test. According to the 6-MWT there was a significant improvement in distances walked before and after attending the CR programme (p=< 0.001). The study concluded that there is a significant improvement in post-op cardiovascular disease patients’ CVE after attending the CR programme, cardiology unit.