Abstract
BACKGROUND: Low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with poor prognosis in individuals with coronary artery disease and after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Thus, we comment about a meta-analysis that adds important information about the effect of exercise training on cardiac autonomic function in individuals following coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. MAIN BODY: The study by Kushwaha et al. showed positive effects for heart rate variability and heart rate recovery in subjects after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery in response to acute physical training. These data are relevant, since heart rate variability is an independent predictor of for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality for individuals with cardiovascular disorders. Additionally, attenuated heart rate recovery is associated with increased risk for the same outcomes. Moreover, we summarize the quantitative data from studies that compared the effect of physical training in comparison with control group in cardiorespiratory fitness in adults following coronary artery bypass grafting. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that improvements in peak oxygen consumption result in an additional benefit in adults following coronary artery bypass grafting. Considered that, the increased cardiorespiratory fitness is an independent predictor of longer survival in coronary artery disease.