Gender differences in risk factors of obese patients after cardiac rehabilitation program

BACKGROUND Obesity is common in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the vast majority of patients entering into cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) are obese. Regarding the gender differences, the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) is recognized to be different between obese men and women. So, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of CRP in functional capacity (FC) and risk factors, such as obesity indexes, lipid profiles, and fasting blood sugar (FBS) in obese men and women with CHD. MARTERIALS AND METHODS In an observational study between 2000 and 2011, we evaluated a total of 156 obese men and women patients with CHD who were referred to cardiac rehabilitation of Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute. Before and after CRP, FC and risk factors were assessed and all the participants completed this period. Data were analyzed with SPSS software version 15. For comparing the mean of outcomes, independent t tests and paired sample t tests were used. RESULTS Data revealed, after CRP, obese women had significant improvement in most evaluated risk factors except total cholesterol (P = 0.05) and FBS (P = 0.09); and obese men had favorable changes in weight (P = 0.00) and body mass index (P = 0.00), FC (P = 0.00) and total cholesterol (P = 0.02); in spite of no significant differences in other lipid profiles. Comparing the 2 groups did not show any significant differences unless high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (P = 0.02) had greater improvement in obese women. CONCLUSION We concluded that CRP is an important step initiating the process of risk reduction and restoration of FC in obese men and obese women with CHD under attendance and supervision of physician, nurse, and exercise physiologist.