Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a supervised exercise program (SEP) plus at home nonsupervised exercise therapy (non-SET) on functional status, quality of life (QoL) and hemodynamic response in post-lower-limb bypass surgery patients. Results: One hundred and seventeen patients were randomized to an intervention (n = 57) or a control group (n = 60). A new individual SEP was designed for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and applied to the studied subjects of the intervention group who also continued non-SET at home, whereas those assigned to the control group received just usual SEP according to a common cardiovascular program. The participants of the study were assessed by a 6-min walking test (6 MWT), an ankle-brachial index (ABI), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) of QoL at baseline, at 1 and 6 months after surgery. A significant improvement was observed in the walked distance in the intervention group after 6 months compared with the control group (p < 0.001). The intervention group had significantly higher QoL score in the physical and mental component of SF-36 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: A 6-month application of the new SEP and non-SET at home has yielded significantly better results in walking distance and QoL in the intervention group than in the controls.

Background. Each year more than 4.3 million people in Europe will die of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the implementation of simple interventions such as smoking cessation, weight loss, improved diets, and increased exercise is the top priority in prevention and rehabilitation programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of complex rehabilitation on the manifestation of risk factors and cardiac events in patients with coronary heart disease. Material and Methods. A total of 140 patients with coronary heart disease and NYHA functional class II–IV ischemic heart failure were recruited to the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups: 70 patients who underwent a 6-month complex rehabilitation course (rehabilitation group) and 70 patients who received drug treatment only (control group). Smoking, dietary, and physical activity habits were documented using the questionnaires. Blood pressure (BP), body weight and height, and total serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglyceride (Tg), and blood glucose levels were measured. Measurements were repeated after 3 and 6 months. Results. After 6 months, significantly reduced systolic BP was observed in both the groups as compared with the baseline values (P<0.05). A significant decrease in the diastolic BP; total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride and blood glucose levels; body mass index, and percentage of patients with the metabolic syndrome as compared with the baseline data was documented only in the rehabilitation group (P<0.05). All the patients quitted smoking as well as all the patients in the rehabilitation group changed their dietary habits (P<0.05). Fewer patients were excluded from the rehabilitation group because of cardiac events as compared with the control group (7.1% vs. 11.4%, P<0.05). Conclusions. Complex long-term rehabilitation of cardiovascular patients significantly reduced the manifestation of major cardiovascular risk factors and the rate of cardiac events. Aerobic exercise must be the most important part of training but well-done resistance training must also be encouraged.

The effectiveness of an individual six-month-long physical exercise program in improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is unclear. There is some evidence that an individual exercise program can be effective for this aim. The goal of this study was to compare an individual six-month-long physical exercise program for patients with PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease) with a traditional exercise program and find the effect of these programs on HRQOL and PAD risk factors. The study included patients who underwent femoral–popliteal artery bypass grafting surgery. Patients were divided into three groups: patients participating in an individual six-month-long physical exercise program (group I), in the standard physical activity program (group II), and in a control group (group III), with no subjects participating in rehabilitation II. Results: group I patients had a significantly (p < 0.001) higher HRQOL at 6 months after their surgery compared with groups II and III. The HRQOL scores were significantly (p < 0.05) lower after surgery among older (≥ 65), overweight participants, as well as among patients with diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases when comparing study results with patients without these risk factors.

Aim:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise rehabilitation programmed (ERP) on hemodynamic responses and functional status in patients after lower limb bypass surgery. Place and Duration of the Study:The study included 70 patients, who were treated in

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