IS ONE MONTH OF EXERCISE-BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION SUFFICIENT AFTER SURGICAL AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT? A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.

Objective: To study whether there were differences in terms of change in the level of physical activity and functional exercise capacity between 1 month and 3 months of training after surgical aortic valve replacement.

Design: A feasibility study of a randomized controlled trial.

Subjects: After drop-out, a total of 30 patients with aortic stenosis participated in the 2 interventions.

Methods: Group A received 1 month and group B 3 months of cardiac rehabilitation after surgical aortic valve replacement. Feasibility was measured in terms of recruitment, adherence and retention rate, adverse events and the ability to collect primary and secondary outcome measurements.

Results: Regarding feasibility, the recruitment rate was low (55%), but the adherence and retention rates were good (group A 81%/94%, group B 64%/79%). The outcome assessment collection was good, and there was only 1 adverse event. Significant differences were found regarding physical activity and self-perceived health in favour of group B.

Conclusion: This feasibility study showed that although the recruitment rate was low, other measures were satisfactory. Results indicate that a shorter supervised programme may be sufficient and possibly facilitate more effective use of resources.