Significance of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Visit-to-Visit Variability of Blood Pressure in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease in a 12-Month Follow-Up

Abstract

BackgroundVisit-to-visit variability (VVV) in blood pressure (BP) has been shown to be a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the long-term effect of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) with exercise training on VVV in BP has not yet been established. Therefore, we evaluated the long-term effects of CR on VVV in BP in patients with CVD.MethodsTwenty-two CVD patients in a 12-month CR program who had at least six clinic visits per month to measure BP were enrolled. We determined VVV in BP expressed as the standard deviation of average BP every month for 12 months.ResultsThe mean age was 70 ± 8 years and the body mass index was 24.4 ± 4.9 kg/m2. In addition, the percentage (%) of males, % heart failure and % ischemic heart disease were 77%, 55% and 27%, respectively. Patients who had uncontrolled BP at baseline showed a significant reduction of both systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). VVV in SBP in the first month was significantly less than that in the last month, although there was no difference in VVV in DBP. Patients were divided into larger (L-) and smaller (S-) VVV in SBP groups according to the average value of VVV in SBP as a cut-off. The L-VVV in SBP group, but not the S-VVV in SBP group, showed a significant reduction of VVV in SBP.ConclusionComprehensive CR may improve VVV in SBP in CVD patients who have larger VVV in SBP.

Cardiac Rehabilitation and Resting Blood Pressure

“…Preliminary findings from a retrospective study indicated that CR reduces all-cause mortality in the approximately 6 yr of follow-up investigation, but the contribution of rehabilitative exercise to risk factor modifications, including BP, was not delineated. Successful control of SBP is nonetheless recognized as essential to long-term cardiovascular health in that CR participation is linked to declines in visit-to-visit SBP 11…”