Hybrid model of cardiac rehabilitation in men and women after myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND A relatively new alternative for post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients' care is the hybrid cardiac rehabilitation (CR) consisting of ambulatory and home-based parts. The aim of the study was to compare the influence of CR on physical capacity, safety, adherence and return to work in post-MI male and female patients with preserved left ventricular systolic function, and to assess who benefited more from this model of trainings. METHODS The study comprised 57 men aged 54.5 ± 7.5 years and 30 women aged 52.2 ± 6.7 years after MI. All subjects underwent an 8-week training program consisting of 24 interval trainings. The first 10 trainings were conducted in an out-patient clinic, then both groups did their training at home with TeleECG monitoring. At the beginning and after trainings all patients underwent a symptom-limited exercise stress test. Assessment included results of exercise tests. Moreover, a comparative analysis of adherence and returning to work in post MI female and male patients was performed. RESULTS We found that trainings led to a significant improvement in physical capacity in all patients based on exercise test. When the training effects were compared between men and women, no significant differences were observed. The percentage of patients returning to work was higher in men than in women (78.9% vs. 50%, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS 1. Hybrid rehabilitation resulted in a comparable improvement in physical capacity in post-MI low-risk male and female patients. 2. Although hybrid rehabilitation facilitated patients' adherence to the training program, their return to work was significantly greater only in post-MI men.