In Germany the in-hospital rehabilitation of patients with cardiac diseases is standard. Especially because of criticism of effectiveness and wasting of resources we evaluated in a pilot study a rehabilitation program with an in-hospital start, followed facultatively on ambulatory basis at the same institution, at the cardiac rehabilitation clinic. The aims of the study were to find out the acceptance of the the program by the patients, the safety and the impact of the facultative ambulatory rehabilitation program on cardiovascular risk factors. From January 1993 to December 1995 the primary enclosing criteria (cardiac disease suitable for rehabilitation, age < 70 years, lodging < 40 km) were fulfilled by 612 patients, 122 female. 268 (43.8%) were disclosed on medical grounds because of the rigid pilot character of the study, for 74 (12.1%) patients was the participation on organisational grounds not possible. Sixty-six of the remaining 270 patients preferred the facultative continuation of the rehabilitation on ambulatory basis for 1 or 2 weeks, the entire rehabilitation lasting up to 4 weeks. During the ambulatory phase the patients slept at home, otherwise these patients followed the same procedure as the in-hospital participants. Despite of severe medical concerns 4 further patients wished to participate on facultative ambulatory continuation of the rehabilitation, among these were 2 women, only 5 of the total 70 patients of the facultative ambulatory program group being female. There were no significant differences among 24 patients with CAD of both groups during the rehabilitation and in a control after 14.8 months (Table 3). The impact on serum total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol was positive (Table 2), albeit after 14.8 months no more significant. Over the control period there were a negative development of serum triglyceride level and significant negative effects on the body weight. There were no complications among the 66 patients during the facultative ambulatory phase of the rehabilitation, in contrast to those 37 of 268 patients who had to be disclosed because of medical concerns (Table 1). During the rehabilitation the drug therapy was optimized for many participants. The control after 14.8 months revealed that these remedies were followed with great accuracy by the physicians at home (Figure 1). In conclusion, a cardiac rehabilitation program with an in-hospital start of 2 weeks, going over to ambulatory rehabilitation for 1 to 2 weeks, is as effective and safe as an in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation. As known, amelioration of the long-term results has yet to be achieved.

IntroductionCardiac rehabilitation (CR) programmes are well established, and their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are proven. In spite of this, CR remains underused, especially in lower-resource settings such as Latin America. There is an urgent need to create more accessible CR delivery models to reach all patients in need. This trial aims to evaluate if the prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events is not inferior in a hybrid CR programme compared with a standard programme.Method and analysisA non-inferiority, pragmatic, multicentre, parallel (1:1), prospective, randomised and open with blinded endpoint assessment clinical trial will be conducted. 308 patients with coronary artery disease will be recruited consecutively. Participants will be randomised to hybrid or standard rehabilitation programme. The hybrid CR programme includes 10 supervised exercise sessions and individualised lifestyle counselling by a physiotherapist, with a transition after 4–6 weeks to unsupervised delivery via text messages and phone calls. The standard CR consists of 18–22 supervised exercise sessions, as well as group education sessions about lifestyle. Intervention in both groups is between 8 and 12 weeks. The primary outcome is a composite of cardiovascular mortality and hospitalisations due to cardiovascular causes. Secondary outcomes are health-related quality of life, exercise capacity, muscle strength, heart-healthy behaviour, return-to-work, cardiovascular risk factor, adherence, and exercise-related adverse events. The outcomes will be measured at the end of intervention, at 6 months and at 12 months follow-up from recruitment. The primary outcome will be tracked through the end of the trial. Per-protocol and intention-to-treat analysis will be undertaken.Cox regression model will be used to compare primary outcome among study groups.Ethics and disseminationEthics committees at the sponsor institution and each centre where participants will be recruited approved the study protocol and the Informed Consent. Research findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals; additionally, results will be disseminated among region stakeholders.Trial registration numberNCT03881150.Date and version01 October 2019.

Considering a cost-effectiveness threshold of 1 unit of gross domestic product per capita (∼$19 000), CR is highly cost-effective for the public health system in Chile.

Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death worldwide. Standard cardiac rehabilitation (face-to-face sessions) has shown benefits in increasing muscle strength and functional exercise capacity in adults and older people. However, it is unknown whether hybrid cardiac rehabilitation (a first face-to-face phase + a second remote monitoring phase) will have similar benefits in adults versus older subjects. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program on muscle strength and functional exercise capacity in “adult” versus “older” people with coronary artery disease. We hypothesized that a hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program would improve muscle strength and functional exercise capacity, but the impact would be smaller in the older group than the adult individuals. This study is part of a larger project (The Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation Trial-HYCARET). We subjected 22 adult (&lt;60 y) females and males (ADULT; n = 5/17 (f/m); 52 ± 5 y; 28.9 ± 3.4 kg·m-2) and 20 older (≥60 y) females and males (OLDER; n = 6/14 (f/m); 66 ± 4 y; 27.4 ± 3.9 kg·m-2) with coronary artery disease to 12 weeks of hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program. Prior to and after 12 weeks of a hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program, grip strength (handgrip), leg strength (chair stand test), and functional exercise capacity (6-minute walk test, 6MWT) were assessed. The hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program resulted in a 9.4 ± 14.6% and a 6.2 ± 12.1% grip strength increase, a 14.4 ± 39.4% and a 28.9 ± 48.1% legs strength increase, and a 14.6 ± 26.4% and a 6.8 ± 14.0% functional exercise capacity improvement in ADULT and OLDER, respectively (p &lt; 0.05) with no differences between groups. In conclusion, a hybrid exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program could increase muscle strength and improve functional exercise capacity in adults and older people with coronary artery disease. More future studies comparing effectiveness among these age groups are needed to strengthen this conclusion.

The 2-Minute Step Test (2MST) has been presented as an alternative to the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) based on the association between the two tests in older adults; however, some authors propose that it should not be a substitute but rather a complement to the latter in the fitness evaluation. Specifically, in coronary disease, despite the potential and clinical utility of 2MST, the relationship of both tests in this population is unknown. This study aimed to determine the relationship between 6MWT and 2MST and to explore the relationship of biodemographic factors for both tests in subjects with treated coronary artery disease. For this, the 6MWT and the 2MST were applied to patients with coronary artery disease treated in 6 hospitals in Chile between May 2019 and February 2020. Additionally, lower limb strength was assessed by a chair-stand test, grip strength was assessed by a dynamometer, and physical measurements were applied. In total, 163 participants underwent both tests (average age = 58.7 ± 9.8 years; 73.6% men; 64.4% revascularized by angioplasty; 28.2% revascularized by surgery, and 7.4% treated by drugs or thrombolysis). Heart rate was higher at the end of the 6MWT, while the perception of effort was greater at the end of the 2MST. There was a weak positive correlation between the 6MWT and the 2MST in subjects with treated coronary disease (r = 0.28, p = 0.0003). While age (r = –0.27), weight (r = 0.25), height (r = 0.49), and strength of both lower limbs (r = 0.41) and grip strength (r = 0.53) correlated weakly or moderately to the covered distance in 6MWT, the number of steps by the 2MST correlated only weakly to height (r = 0.23), lower limb strength (r = 0.34), and grip strength (r = 0.34). Age, weight, height, lower limb strength, and grip strength would explain better the meters walked in the 6MWT than the steps achieved in the 2MST. With these findings, we can conclude that, in patients with treated coronary artery disease, it does not seem advisable to replace 6MWT with 2MST when it is possible to do so. Additionally, the 2MST may provide additional information in the fitness evaluation. However, the usefulness of 2MST in this population needs to be further studied.