One year results on a Spanish cardiac rehabilitation center

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRP) after myocardial infarction have an I-A recommendation level, according to European clinical guidelines, but in real life their implementation is very low. To improve secondary prevention, post-infarction CRP needs to be implemented and made it accessible to the public Spanish Health-care services. Purpose The aim of this study is to analyze the results after one year of CPR program in a tertiary Spanish hospital. Methods An observational study was performed on cardiac rehabilitation patients from October 2021 to November 2022. Patients were included in an individualized exercise program consisting in 3-days-supervised workout, self-home workout, life-style and nutrition lessons and medical treatment optimization. Demographics and analytic data were collected on the first visit and the last visit before discharge. Results One hundred patients were included (73.7% male, median age 60.9 years (SD 8.69)). Principal cardiovascular risk factors were arterial hypertension (55.5%), diabetes (29.3%), dyslipidemia (62.9%) and smoking (37.4%). ST-elevation myocardial infarction was the main prior diagnosis (47.5%) followed by non-ST myocardial infarction (39.4) and unstable angina (10.1%). Patients improved weight control - 1.67 kg (SD 2.89), abdominal circumference -2.7 cm (SD 2.6), exercise capacity 1.84 METS (SD 2.3), diet (PREDIMET scale) 1.6 points (SD 2.3) and anxiety and depression scale -1.05 points (SD 2.07). 85,7% of patient give up smoking. LDL-cholesterol reduction was -60.3 mg/dl (SD 38.58), reaching the LDL-cholesterol target by 66.3% (levels<55mg/dl) and on diabetic patients, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) achieves an 11.5% mean reduction from basal levels, reaching target levels (Hb A1c < 7%) on 68.2%. Conclusion CRP programs are an essential in secondary prevention and their implementation should be extensive to the majority of hospitals and primary care centers to promote life-style hacks and control cardiovascular risk factors.