Transitional Rehabilitation in CABG Patients

The goal of this research study is to understand whether an at-home exercise program started soon after CABG surgery, and continuing for 4 weeks following discharge from the hospital, can preserve or improve physical function.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a common surgical procedures and an important treatment option for coronary artery disease. The post-surgery period of rest and recovery is associated with cardiorespiratory and skeletal muscle deconditioning. The goal of this research study is to understand whether an at-home exercise program started soon after CABG surgery, and continuing for 4 weeks following discharge from the hospital, can serve as a bridge between surgery and the start of cardiac rehabilitation to preserve or improve physical function. Volunteers will be randomly assigned to receive neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of their quadriceps muscles or not to receive NMES (control group). Volunteers will be evaluated prior to CABG, upon discharge and 4 weeks Post-CABG surgery. Assessments will include measurements of physical function by the Short Physical Performance Battery, 6 min walk tests and body composition analysis, as well as assessment of subjective physical functional capacity and quality of life using the Medical Outcomes Short form 36. Additionally, accelerometry will be used to monitor weight-bearing physical activity during the 4 week treatment phase.

Short Physical Performance Battery is composed of three tasks assessing balance, gait speed, and ability to stand from a chair. Units on a scale for each domain range from of 0-4 for a total score of 0 to 12, with a higher score indicating better physical function.

6 MW was developed to assess cardiopulmonary fitness in patients with lung and cardiac disease, and has been validated in cardiac surgery patients. It assesses the distance that a patient can walk in 6 minutes time around a standard course.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focused on limitations in physical function due to health problems. Lower scores represent more physical function disability, while higher scores represent less disability.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focused on limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems. Lower scores represent more disability, while higher scores represent less disability.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focused on bodily pain. Lower scores represent more pain, while higher scores represent less pain.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focused on self-reported general health. Lower scores represent worse health, while higher scores represent better health.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focused on vitality (energy and fatigue). Lower scores represent less vitality, while higher scores represent more vitality.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focuses on limitations in social activities because of physical or emotional problems. Lower scores represent more more limitations, while higher scores represent less lmitations.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This sub-domain focuses on limitations in usual role activities because of emotional problems. Lower scores represent more limitations, while higher scores represent less limitations.

The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 is a questionnaire that assesses self-reported health and physical functional status. There are 36 questions that reflect eight sub-domains of health included in this questionnaire. Scores for each domain represent weighted sums of the questions in each sub-domain. Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. This measure represents the total computed score across all sub-domains. Lower scores represent worse overall health, while higher scores represent better health.

Physical activity was measured throughout the intervention in control and treatment groups and data. Data were analyzed by regression analysis to obtain the best fit line for the data and to compute a slope of the change in step count with day post-discharge to examine whether groups differed in their rate of recovery of weight-bearing activity (ie, walking).

Inclusion Criteria: 50-80 yrs of age ambulatory scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft surgery able to provide informed consent Exclusion Criteria: rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory/autoimmune disease cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer exercise limiting peripheral vascular disease neuromuscular disease or neuromuscular dysfunction associated with cerebrovascular event body mass index >38 kg/m2 valvular heart disease not corrected surgically lower extremity blood clot or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Rengo JL, Savage PD, Hirashima F, Leavitt BJ, Ades PA, Toth MJ. Improvement in Physical Function After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Using a Novel Rehabilitation Intervention: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev. 2021 Nov 1;41(6):413-418. doi: 10.1097/HCR.0000000000000576.