Trial of Rehabilitation in Phase 1 After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery often experience a range of problems and symptoms related to the procedure and the underlying heart disease. These problems include anxiety and depressive symptoms, immobility issues, complications such as wound seeping, neck and shoulder pains, interrupted and insufficient sleep. Over the last 2 decades, cardiac rehabilitation has become recognized as a significant component in the continuum of care for persons with cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, cardiac rehabilitation has undergone a significant evolution moving from a focused exercise intervention to a comprehensive disease management program. In Guidelines for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery cardiac rehabilitation is described to include early ambulation during hospitalisation, and outpatient prescriptive exercise training beginning 6-8 weeks following surgery. Our hypothesis is that physical exercise with moderate intensity and a psycho-educative component as a part of cardiac rehabilitation can begin in early postoperatively during hospitalising. Results from studies on phase 1 rehabilitation in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients are promising. However, no randomised trials have been conducted, and evidence is therefore lacking.

The objective of this pilot trial is to investigate the effect of a phase 1 comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programme consisting of a psycho-educative component, an exercise-training component including pulmonary training, cycling, neck and shoulder exercises, these in combination plus treatment as usual and treatment as usual in patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting.

SheppHeartCABG is an investigator-initiated 2 x 2 factorial randomised clinical pilot trial with blinded outcome assessment. Recruitment from one site with 1:1:1:1 central randomisation to phase 1 rehabilitation; 1) exercise-training plus usual care, 2) psycho-educative plus usual care 3) exercise-training and psycho-educative plus usual, 4) usual care alone.