Effects of physical exercise training on cardiac function and graft patency after coronary artery bypass grafting

The effects of physical exercise training after coronary artery bypass grafting on recovery of cardiac function and graft patency were studied in 115 patients. The patients were divided into Group I (N = 60) with and Group II (N = 55) without a scheduled rehabilitation program. The rate of graft patency was 98% in Group I and 80% in Group II. After operation, the exercise cardiac index and stroke index were significantly higher in Group I than in Group II. The exercise stroke index increased significantly in Group I, but not in Group II. The variables affecting graft patency, examined by a stepwise method, included double product, cardiac index, stroke index, and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure during postoperative exercise conditions, and postoperative exercise training. The multiple coefficient for these five variables was 0.459 (p less than 0.01). Our findings suggest that physical exercise training should be started as early as possible after coronary artery bypass grafting to improve graft patency and recovery of cardiac function.