First postoperative week activity patterns and recovery in women after coronary artery bypass surgery

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between activity-rest patterns and recovery in women during the first week after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABS). Twenty-five women wore wrist actigraphs to measure activity objectively throughout the first postoperative week. The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) and length of postoperative hospital stay (LOS) were used as measures of recovery. Analysis of the activity data indicated that 21 (84%) of the participants had statistically significant positive linear trends in activity. Spectrum analysis indicated that 18 participants had periods that could be defined as circadian, 1 had a shorter period, and 6 had longer periods. After controlling for the effect of preoperative functional status, the period and linear trend of activity explained 28% of the variance in the SIP score at 1 week and 33% of the variance in length of stay. Positive linear trends in activity and circadian activity periods were related to better functioning and shorter length of stay.