Background: Research on cardiac rehabilitation has raised interesting methods and effects without however establishing the share of the profits according to age, sex and cardiac pathology. Yet today, this disease with various pathologies strikes people of all ages and both sexes, and the recommended rehabilitation exercise intensity is often the ventilatory threshold. The aim of this study was to compare benefits of a training program at ventilatory threshold according to age, gender and cardiac pathology.
Methods: One hundred and eighty eight cardiac patients, of whom 62 had coronary artery bypass surgery, 22 artery angioplasty, 54 myocardial infarction and 50 valve replacements, aged 31–82 years, performed spirometric and cardiopulmonary exercise tests before and after a training program. This program consisted of exercise on a cycloergometer for three sessions of 45 min per week for eight weeks at heart rates attenuated at ventilatory threshold (V_Th) obtained during a cardiopulmonary exercise test conducted before the training period.
Results: Peak heart rate, peak aerobic power, and peak oxygen uptake determined at V_Th increased during the training period in all groups of subjects. Men and adult groups had higher absolute values compared to women and elderly groups. No difference was observed in cardiac pathology groups. Similar improvements of aerobic capacities were observed in age, gender and cardiac pathology groups.
Conclusions: A training program conducted at personalised V_Th significantly improves the aerobic physical capacities of all cardiac patients, and inducessimilar benefits whatever the age, gender or cardiac pathology. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 6: 632–638)