[Short-term impact of an ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation program on arterial rigidity]

If the positive impact of cardiac rehabilitation on metabolic profile and exercise tolerance is well documented in the literature, very few studies evaluated the impact of these rehabilitation programs on arterial rigidity.

The main objective of this study was to determine if a short and intense 4-week cardiac rehabilitation program could yield a positive impact on arterial rigidity.

A cohort study was performed on Leopold Bellan Foundation. All patients referred for cardiac rehabilitation program after an acute event (surgery, technical gesture or acute decompensate heart failure) were included in this study. Our CR program consists of four sessions per week for five weeks (total of 20 sessions) and includes both exercise and health and nutrition education sessions. In addition to clinical and therapeutic data collection, biochemical analysis for carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and exercise capacity measurements, carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured in a quiet room in the morning of their first and last day prior to any exercise.

One hundred and ninety-eight cardiac patients have participated in this study, of which 79% were male, mean age 60 ± 10, 50 (25%) were diabetic, 103 (52%) were hypertensive, 60 (30%) were current smokers, 98 (50%) had dyslipidemia, and 140 (71%) were referred for cardiac rehabilitation after acute coronary syndrome. Arterial stiffness is defined by a VPWV value greater or equal to 10. At the beginning, 59% of our patients have rigid arteries. After 20 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation, this number is significantly reduced to 51% (P=0.12). Patients with arterial stiffness have accumulated more major cardiovascular risk factors, and have had less exercise capacity than others. However they benefit similarly from the cardiovascular rehabilitation program.

In the present study, we observed that arterial stiffness, as reflected by the PWV, tends to decrease after short-term ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation program.