Improvement of cardiorespiratory function after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a 3-mo training program for patients with either a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or a coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Design: Forty-four patients participated in a 3-mo outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. Graded exercise tests with gas analysis were conducted before and after training to evaluate the changes of cardiorespiratory function. Results: In the pretraining examination, the PTCA group showed a higher peak oxygen uptake (Vo(2peak)) and work rate than the CABG group. In the posttraining examination, the PTCA group increased 14.6% in Vo(2peak). Meanwhile, the CABG group increased 32.8% in Vo(2peak). At the ventilatory threshold, both groups also significantly increased in Vo(2). Conclusions: A 3-mo cardiac rehabilitation program for patients with PTCA or CABG could favorably enhance their cardiorespiratory function. Although the pretraining Vo(2peak) was lower for the patients with CABG, their training potential was greater, and hence they could achieve a similar level of aerobic capacity as the PTCA group.