Effect of cardiac rehabilitation program on kinesiophobia and functional capacity in open heart surgery

Background: Open heart surgery is the major surgical procedure that is the most frequently conducted in general hospitals. Kinesiophobia and functional capacity are greatly compromised after open heart surgery. Cardiac rehabilitation helps in secondary prevention and minimizes different risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Objective: To determine the effect of a cardiac rehabilitation program on kinesiophobia and functional capacity after open heart surgery. Methodology: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at Rehman medical institute, Peshawar. The sample size was calculated as 45 by using G power, both male and female patients of aged 50 to 70 years who underwent open heart surgery were selected through a nonprobability purposive sampling technique from July 2021 to February 2022. Patients having any neurodegenerative disease, disorder of stance and gait, or drug intoxication were excluded. Pre and post-assessment after a week after was done using scale Tampa scale of kinesiophobia-11 for kinesiophobia and 6 minutes walk test for functional capacity. Phase 1 cardiac rehabilitation program was used as an intervention after open heart surgery. Paired t-test was applied to determine the mean difference in a group pre and post-interventional. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. Results: The Mean age of the patients was 59.71±5.01 years. The results showed a significant improvement in kinesiophobia (28.96±4.67 versus 21.76±3.51, p<0.001) and functional capacity on 6 MWT (227.11±74.40 versus 326.02±80.05, p<0.001) after cardiac rehabilitation program was observed in study participants enrolled. Conclusion: The study concluded that cardiac rehabilitation programs have a significant effect on kinesiophobia and functional capacity after open heart surgery. Keywords: cardiac rehabilitation, functional capacity, kinesiophobia, open heart surgery.