The influence of regular clinic physical training on blood pressure in patients with ischemic heart disease

Abstract

Cardiac rehabilitation greatly contributes to regaining psycho-physical fitness by patients which is one of its main aims. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of clinic cardiac rehabilitation on blood pressure in patients with ischemic heart disease. 73 patients (49 men and 24 women) after myocardial infarction, cardiac operations, coronary angioplasty or serious heart disorders together with other concomitant diseases were examined. The average age was 61.63 years. The average systolic and diastolic blood pressure in those patients and the average blood pressure was measured. The rehabilitation programme consisted of 24 one-hour sessions carried out 2-3 times a week. Those sessions included 30 minutes of general keep-fit exercises and 30 minutes of cycloergometer exercise (intervallic training) with the submaximum load individually adjusted to each patient on the basis of the exercise test results. All the time the heart work was controlled by means of an electrocardiograph. The rehabilitation lasted about 3 months. The patients did the exercises in groups of six. The research results show that regular cardiac rehabilitation has a beneficial influence on the systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with ischemic heart disease. The three-months-long cardiac rehabilitation resulted in significant reduction of the systolic blood pressure and the mean arterial pressure in both female and male patients regardless of age. A long-term cardiac training significantly reduces the diastolic blood pressure and the mean arterial pressure in patients with ischemic heart disease and hypertension as opposed to the group of normotensive patients. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR