Effect of cardiac rehabilitation on intensity of physical activity according to type of surgery and Eurscore II after open heart surgery

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Introduction

Patients after open heart surgery require cardiac rehabilitation (CR), as reconstructive surgery reduces the quality of life. A perioperative EuroSCORE II score is used for assessment of risk of worse outcomes after surgery. Few is known whether CR is feasible in patients undergoing open heart surgery with moderate and high risk Euroscore II and whether the intensity of physical activity (PA) varies according to the type of heart surgery.

Objective

To evaluate effect of CR on perceived intensity of PA and target heart rate in patients who underwent open heart surgery and different EurSCORE II scale.

Methods

The retrospective cohort study included 104 patients who underwent open heart surgery and stage 2 CR: group 1- 64 patients with coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), group 2 - 40 patients with valvular heart disease (VHD) surgery. We evaluated following parameters: subjective assessment of PA intensity on the Borg scale and objective assessment on the achievement of the training heart rate before and after CR. The perioperative risk of worse outcomes was assessed using EuroSCORE II scale.

Results

According to the EuroSCORE II scale: 1st group patients were at: -low risk -21%, moderate risk -68%, high risk -11% and 2nd group - low risk 29%, moderate risk 54%, and high risk 17%. None of patients had adverse effects of CR. In the first group, the subjective assessment on the Borg scale before CR was slightly higher than in the second group: -2.43 ± 0.09 points vs. 2.22 ± 0.11 points before CR. At the end of the CR, there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in perception of intensity of PA in both groups - the 1st group –4.37 ± 0.06 points and in 2nd group - 4.35 ± 0.07 points. Target heart rate before CR did not differ between groups: group 1 - 75 ± 5.7 beats per minute and group 2 - 89 ± 7.7 beats per minute (p=0.552): after CR there was a significant decrease in heart rate: group 1 - 55 ± 2.2 bpm, group 2 - 61 ± 3.2 bpm (p =.0012).

Conclusion

1. CR increases significantly intensity of physical activity in pts after open heart surgery 2. Though the VHD surgery pts might have lower intensity of PA before CR, the intensity of PA after CR did not differ between CABG and VHD surgeries, increasing in both groups. 3. Patients with moderate and high EurSCORE II risk comprised 80 and 69% of patients in our cohort, none of them experienced adverse effect of CR and had improvement of PA and achieved target heart rate.

[Factors associated with atrial fibrillation in patients with hypertension and preserved left ventricle systolic function]

The objective of our study was to define factors associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with hypertension (HTN) and preserved left ventricle systolic function.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Overall, 273 consecutive patients with HTN residing in urban area were included in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups: the first - 60 patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF (33% men, age 62, 28 (10,02), the second - 213 patients without AF (33% men, age 59,37 (8,27).

RESULTS

Stepwise logistic regression analysis demonstrated AF presence was associated with alcohol intake ≥ 7 drinks per week (OR 4,12; 95%CI: 1,04-16,35), low physical activity (OR 3,18; 95% CI: 1,32-7,68), higher hip circumference (OR 1,19; 95% CI: 1,08-1,31) and history of HTN (OR 1,10; 95% CI: 1,04-1,17). BMI was not associated with presence of AF (OR 0,75; 95% CI: 0,61-0,91).

CONCLUSION

Thus in our urban population with hypertension, AF is associated with alcohol intake ≥ 7 drinks per week, low physical activity, increased hip circumference and history of hypertension.AF prevention should include modification of lifestyle.

Silent myocardial ischemia after myocardial infarction: severity of coronary artery disease, impact on left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions and prognosis

The aim of the present study was assessment of the relationship of silent myocardial ischemia with clinical, coronary angiography findings, and left ventricular systolic and diastolic function, and its prognostic significance in patients early after myocardial infarction. One hundred nineteen male patients (mean age 48.2+/-1.2 years) with first Q wave myocardial infarction entered the study. Routine coronary angiography, 24-hour Holter electrocardiographic recordings, and two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography with assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function were performed in all the patients. Prospective follow-up was done during 1 year. Patients with signs of silent myocardial ischemia early after myocardial infarction had more severe coronary artery disease, pronounced disturbances of left ventricular systolic and diastolic performance, and adverse prognosis than those without ischemia appearance during Holter recordings.

Effects of trimetazidine on heart rate variability and left ventricular systolic performance in patients with coronary artery disease after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty

Fifty-one patients (mean age 51.6 +/- 7.1 years) with angiographically proven coronary artery disease (CAD) entered the study. In 26 patients (Group I), trimetazidine treatment started twenty-four hours after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Another 25 patients (Group II) without trimetazidine treatment were kept as controls. The groups were comparable by age, gender, risk factors of CAD, coronary anatomy, left ventricular performance, and heart rate variability indices at baseline state. Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability and two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic examinations were performed before PTCA, and twenty-four hours, ten days, thirty days, and three months after PTCA. A statistically significant improvement of left ventricular systolic performance (P < 0.001), augmentation of the parasympathetic band of heart rate variability (P < 0.001), and decline of P1/P2 ratio (P < 0.01) were evident in patients treated with trimetazidine, while no apparent changes were observed in controls. The intergroup analysis also showed marked difference between groups as recorded on the day 30 and month 3 of observation (P < 0.001). During follow-up period recurrences of angina pectoris and ischemia were registered in Group II, while no evidence of ischemia was discerned in Group I patients. In conclusion, trimetazidine modulates the autonomic control of heart rate, ie, reduces sympathetic overactivity and augments vagal influences, improves left ventricular contractility, and diminishes the clinical manifestations of ischemia in patients with CAD after PTCA.

High-altitude pulmonary hypertension: effects of captopril on pulmonary and systemic arterial pressures

The purpose of investigation was the assessment of the effect of captopril on both systemic (Pa) and pulmonary arterial pressures (PPA) in patients with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH). Seventeen patients (mean age 44 +/- 6.8 years) with HAPH and mild-to-moderate systemic arterial hypertension were included in the study. All the patients underwent right heart catheterization with measurements of systolic PPA (PPA,syst), mean PPA (PPA) and diastolic PPA (PPA,diast). After a 4 week placebo phase, patients with PPA,syst > 25 mm Hg, PPA > 15 mm Hg and systemic diastolic blood pressure (Pa,diast) > 100 mm Hg received captopril (50-75 mg at 08.00) for a period of 12 weeks. The statistical evaluation of the results were made using the Student's t-test. It was found that captopril significantly decreases PPA and Pa.

Atrial natriuretic factor in high-altitude pulmonary hypertension: the influence of acute hypoxia on plasma atrial natriuretic factor, renin, and aldosterone concentrations in highlanders with initially normal or elevated pulmonary artery pressure and without evidence of right ventricular hypertrophy

Since the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and atrial natriuretic factor are directly involved in the regulation of hemodynamics and structural alterations in the circulatory system, the interest of investigators in the observed changes in this system during exogenous hypoxia and the resultant development of high-altitude pulmonary hypertension is quite understandable. The authors measured the plasma levels of hormones from the major vasoconstrictor neurohumoral system and from one vasodilatory system and correlated them with hemodynamic variables in native highlanders of Tien-Shan.