[Exercise therapy in coronary disease. An overall practical model for long-term rehabilitation]

This report concerns a model for multifactorial rehabilitation after myocardial infarction (MI), with minimum requirements of personnel, space and equipment. Groups of patients are treated twice weekly, in a gymnasium of a school. Survivors of MI increased their exercise capacity from 77% to 93% of sex- and age adjusted normal within 3 to 6 months of therapy (mean values, P less than 0.001). A similar improvement was observed regardless of whether exercise training was started soon (less than 6 months) or late (greater than 12 months) after MI, indicating that exercise capacity increased with training, but was not dependent on time alone. The majority of 87 patients who answered a questionnaire, indicated that in their opinion a strictly organized program requiring a regular attendance was important for the rehabilitation and 89% thought that their participation had resulted in physical and psychological benefits. Two groups of survivors of MI were compared by use of the "Freiburger personality inventory" (FPI). Patients who were more physically impaired, showed a greater degree of a sort of psychosomatic disorder as indicated by the ratings of scale 1 of the FPI. The described program has proved successful, as it resulted in an increase of exercise capacity. This may have a favorable influence on a sort of psychosomatic disorder encountered in patients with healed MI. Beneficial physical and psychological effects were reported by the participants.