A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF STRENGTH AND AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAININGON EXERCISE CAPACITY AND LIPIDS AFTER CORONARY-ARTERY BYPASS-SURGERY

Background Coronary artery surgery improves symptoms and prognosis in patients with angina. Aerobic exercise rehabilitation improves exercis e capacity and prognosis in cardiac patients. Strength exercise traini ng has not been extensively studied. Design We studied the effects of 6 months aerobic and strength exercise trainiag after coronary artery surgery in 81 men, meaning 57 years. Results Treadmill time(s) increas ed by 130.3 (95% confidence interval 46.4 to 214.2) in the aerobic gro up; by 83.1 (0.9 to 165.3) in the strength group, and by 34.3 (-1 to 6 9.6) in the control group (P=0.04, control versus aerobic) after 3 mon ths, and by 196.4 (112.2 to 280.7) in the aerobic group, by 122.7 (37. 7 to 207.6) in the strength group and by 27 (-40.4 to 94.4) in the con trol group (P=0.002, control versus aerobic: and P=0.03 control versus strength) after 6 months. The level of fitness improved mure in the s trength-trained group, and there tr;as a minor reduction in body weigh t and degree of fatness. There were no changes in lipoprotein levels. Aerobic exercise training causes early and sustained benefit in treadm ill exercise capacity, while the effects of strength exercise training are later in onset. Exercise training alone did not influence lipid l evels. Conclusion Cardiac rehabilitation programmes should be comprehe nsive, including advice on diet and other risk factor modifications in addition to exercise sessions involving aerobic and strength training elements.