Cardiac rehabilitation in the community: 11 year follow-up after a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To determine the long-term effects of a 3 month post-infarct exercise cardiac rehabilitation programme. Design: Two hundred male patients who took part in a randomized controlled trial of community based post-infarct rehabilitation were followed-up with an annual questionnaire. Results: The questionnaire response rate fell from about 90% at year 1 to 72% at year 11. The level of exercise, the prevalence of angina pectoris and `energy' scores of the treatment group and the controls converged over several years and met between years 6 and 8. There was no significant difference between the two groups for non-fatal reinfarction nor for long-term mortality. Significant predictors of mortality included pulmonary oedema on the admission chest X-ray, the development of complications during admission, one or more previous infarcts, increasing age and low initial fitness. Conclusions: A 3 month course of post-infarct exercise training can produce beneficial effects which last several years.