| Heart disease is highly associated with physical disability. Therefore, a main goal of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in older patients is to prevent or delay the onset of physical disability via improvements in physical function. The effectiveness of CR at improving exercise tolerance has been well documented, but its impact on overall physical function has been minimally examined. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in physical function from baseline to follow-up between older patients who adhered to 12 weeks of phase two CR (CR group) and those who did not adhere to the program (NA group). Patients who completed 27 sessions of CR or more were categorized into the CR group, while those who completed 18 sessions or less of CR were categorized into the NA group. Five parameters of physical function were measured objectively using items from the Senior Fitness Test. The parameters measured were lower-body strength, upper-body strength, lower-body flexibility, upper-body flexibility, and agility/dynamic balance. Baseline assessments took place within one week of program start for all participants, and follow-up assessments were scheduled 12 weeks following baseline assessments. Changes in physical function scores from week one to week 12 were compared between both groups using repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Fifteen older patients (14 males, 1 female) completed the study. Based on adherence rates, eight patients (8 males, 0 female) were assigned to the CR group, while seven patients (6 males, 1 female) were assigned to the NA group. Average adherence rates were 88.5% and 33.3% for the CR and NA groups, respectively. Both groups improved significantly from baseline to follow-up on measures of lower-body strength, upper-body strength, and lower-body flexibility (p < .05). However, no differences were found between groups, indicating that individuals who dropped out of CR obtained similar improvements in physical function as did CR participants. These results highlight the need for CR program components aimed specifically at improving various parameters of physical function in older patients. |
