Regular exercise 'highly beneficial' for heart patients, regardless of age

Regular Exercise is highly beneficial for all patients with cardiovascular disease regardless of age.

A study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology investigated the effects of an exercise‐based cardiac rehabilitation programme on a range of physical and psychological parameters in young, old, and very old patients.

It observed 733 patients at Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Clinique Les Rosiers, Dijon, France from January 2015 to September 2017.

All of the patients completed a 25-session cardiac rehabilitation programme.

For the purposes of the study, the patients were divided into three subgroups: less than 65 years old; between 65 and 80 years old; and 80 years or older. Physical and psychological variables such as scores of anxiety and depression were evaluated for all patients before and after cardiac rehabilitation.

Following the intervention, all patients experienced improvements.

“We found a few weeks of exercise training not only significantly improved exercise capacity, but also decreased anxiety and depression," said lead investigator Gaëlle Deley from the University of Burgundy Franche-Comté in Dijon, France.

"Patients with the greatest physical impairments at baseline benefited the most from exercise.

“Another interesting result was that patients younger than 65 who were very anxious before rehabilitation benefited the most from exercise training.

"A similar result was found for depressed patients older than 65. These improvements will surely have a great positive impact on patients’ independence and quality of life and might help both clinicians and patients to realize how beneficial exercise rehabilitation can be.”

To read the full study, click here.