Effects of long-term and ongoing cardiac rehabilitation in elderly patients with coronary heart disease.

The authors assessed the effect of very long-term cardiac rehabilitation (over 1 year) on exercise tolerance and coronary heart disease risk factors in patients older than 80 years with coronary heart disease relative to an elderly cohort without coronary heart disease. Included in this retrospective analysis were patients older than 80 at the time of their last evaluation who had completed at least 1 year of a cardiac prevention and exercise training program. A total of 43 coronary heart disease patients and 15 age-matched healthy subjects were included in this study. Long-term cardiac rehabilitation in very elderly coronary heart disease patients was shown to be feasible and effective in improving functional capacity (+5.4% after 1 year; P< .05) and risk factor control, and slowing the decline in exercise tolerance that occurs with normal aging.