Exercise training is a pivotal component of long-term management of cardiovascular diseases. In Slovenia, outpatient rehabilitation is recommended for patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure, followed by long-life rehabilitation in coronary clubs and associa-tions. The Ljubljana Coronary Club has provided exercise training for cardiac patients for several years; in 2019, appraisal of functional capacity with 6-minute walk tests (6MWT) was introduced. In 2020, however, coronary clubs and associations had to shut down on-site activities because of the coronavirus 19 (covid-19) pandemic; in response, the Ljubljana Coronary Club introduced a tele rehabilitation programme.
We aimed to assess the effect of 1) the covid-19 pandemic, 2) selected patients’ characteris-tics (age, sex, body mass and cardiac diagnosis) and 3) adherence to the telerehabilitation programme on A) 6MWT and B) secondary endpoints (body mass and blood lipid levels).
We included 126 patients (median age 74, 68% women) who had performed a 6MWT in 2019 and repeated the 6MTW in 2021. In addition, we determined blood lipid levels and patients responded to the DASS, IPAQ and SF-36 questionnaires. During the pandemic, the 6MWT distance decreased (from 510 +/- 92 m to 488 +/- 101 m, p<0.001); body mass increased, and HDL levels decreased. 6MWT distance decrease was associated with female sex, increasing age and increasing body mass. The decrease was associated with a heart failure diagnosis. Telerehabilitation adherence, self-reported psychological health and self-reported physical activity over the preceding week were not associated with 6MWT. Self-reported quality of life, on the other hand, was statistically significantly associated with 6MWT distance.
Our results confirm a decrease in aerobic functional capacity in members of the Coronary Club Ljubljana during the pandemic. The decrease was associated with sex, age, body mass, and self-reported quality of life. Our findings underscore the importance of regular assess-ments of functional capacity in members of coronary clubs and associations, as factors driving a decrease in functional capacity should be promptly addressed.
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