Abstract
BACKGROUND: Japan had the highest proportion of the elderly in the world, with one in 10 individuals aged ≥80 years. Consequently, the number of patients with cardiovascular diseases is increasing. Older patients often have comorbidities such as frailty, sarcopenia, and cognitive decline that leads to a decreased quality of life (QOL). We analyzed the effects of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR) in elderly patients with cardiovascular disease. METHODS: The comprehensive OCR had been provided by a multidisciplinary team. We analyzed data from 49 patients with cardiovascular diseases, aged ≥80 years, who received cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) tests based OCR. Frailty, physical function, QOL, exercise tolerance, and vascular endothelial function were assessed before and after OCR. RESULTS: All 49 patients had completed the OCR program. The mean patients' age was 84.1 ± 3.6 years and 32.7 % were male. The proportion of frailty and pre-frailty participants significantly decreased from 92 % to 67 % following OCR. The QOL (KCCQ: 76.8 ± 18.4 vs. 81.4 ± 20.4; P = 0.0196), exercise tolerance (peak VO(2): 14.1 ± 4.0 vs. 15.4 ± 3.9 mL/min/kg; P = 0.0017), and vascular endothelial function (Ln-RHI: 0.48 ± 0.39 vs. 0.57 ± 0.3; P = 0.027) significantly improved after OCR. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive OCR with CPX-based exercise therapy and the multidisciplinary approach significantly improved frailty, the QOL, physical function, exercise tolerance, and vascular endothelial function in patients with cardiovascular diseases aged ≥80 years.