IMR Press / RCM / Volume 23 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2302068
Open Access Case Report
The effects of pre-transplantation center-based cardiac rehabilitation on the postoperative quality of life and adherence to exercise in patients undergoing heart transplantation
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1 Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, 06351 Seoul, Republic of Korea
2 Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, 06351 Seoul, Republic of Korea
3 Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Center, Samsung Medical Center, 06351 Seoul, Republic of Korea
4 Department of Nursing, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Center, Samsung Medical Center, 06351 Seoul, Republic of Korea
5 Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, 06351 Seoul, Republic of Korea
*Correspondence: jidong.sung@samsung.com (Jidong Sung)
Academic Editors: Kazuhiro P. Izawa, Peter H. Brubaker and Giuseppe Santarpino
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2022, 23(2), 68; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2302068
Submitted: 19 August 2021 | Revised: 9 October 2021 | Accepted: 20 October 2021 | Published: 17 February 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cardiac rehabilitation)
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.

This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Abstract

Background: Heart transplantation (HTx) is the final treatment option for patients with chronic heart failure. Several studies have reported that exercise therapy, which is a component of cardiac rehabilitation, improves exercise capacity and the quality of life (QOL) in patients with heart failure. Methods: Three patients, referred to an inpatient cardiac rehabilitation before HTx, participated in center-based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) during the hospitalization period. The CBCR, including aerobic exercises and resistance training, was conducted 3–4 days/week under cardiac rehabilitation team. Clinical outcomes included QOL using short form (SF)-36 questionnaire and the level of physical activity using international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) were evaluated before and after following the CBCR. Results: These patients showed an improved QOL in physical components with mean 32% and in mental components with mean 43%. The adherence to exercise confirmed by level of physical activity also increased as much as mean 1275 MET-minutes at 3 months after transplantation. Conclusions: The findings in case report show the safety and effectiveness of CBCR in patients waiting for HTx during hopitalization. This is the first case report showing the effect of CBCR in admission period in Korean patients undergoing HTx.

Keywords
cardiac rehabilitation
heart transplantation
quality of life
patient compliance
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