The Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure and Left Ventricular End-Diastolic Pressure in Patients after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Background:Cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) is a useful method of modifying cardiovascular risk factors, improving life expectancy and quality of life in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of cardiac rehabilitation on the pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Methods: This Quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design was conducted on 80 patients with IHD who had participated in CRP after undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Echocardiography was performed before the beginning of CRP (the 1st session) and at the end of the rehabilitation sessions, and ventricular function indices (ejection fraction), PASP (using the tricuspid regurgitation velocity), and LVEDP (using Nagueh formula: 1.24×E/e´+1.9) were measured. Results: Ejection fraction (EF) was changed from 49.3 ± 7.8 before rehabilitation to 50.7 ± 7.4 after rehabilitation, which was a statistically significant difference (P=0.003). The pulmonary artery systolic pressure altered from 30.3 ± 8.4 before rehabilitation to 27.3 ± 6.6 after rehabilitation. The left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) changed from 10.5 ± 3.7 before rehabilitation to 9.1 ± 2.9 after rehabilitation, which was a statistically significant difference (P= 0.000). Conclusion: According to the results, LVEDP and PASP in patients with IHD who underwent CABGs decreased after cardiac rehabilitation.