Introduction: A difficulty in maintaining a regular post-hospitalization physical activity program by
cardiac surgery patients is reported in the literature. This reduces the long-term benefit that a
cardiac rehabilitation program can provide, and therefore it has become increasingly relevant to
understand how to maintain high compliance in these patients.
Purpose: To evaluate whether a video support containing specific exercises can be more effective in
maintaining adherence to physical activity, compared with the paper-only support in use at the
specialist cardiac rehabilitation department of Multimedica, Castellanza.
Materials and methods: patients <65 years old, after cardiac surgery, with preserved left ventricular
ejection fraction (LVEF), without orthopedic neurological and oncological comorbidities. All
subjects at discharge were divided into two groups by simple randomization.
GC (control group): 15 patients who were given a paper discharge program containing
examples of exercises to be performed at home.
GS (study group): 15 patients, also given the paper discharge program containing exercises
to be performed at home plus a video support representing the same exercises.
Outcome measures: 6MWT (6-minute walking test), SPPB (short physical performance battery),
30'STS (sit to stand), 10m GST (Gait speed test), carried out upon discharge (T0) and 2 months
after discharge (T2). In addition, an Adherence Questionnaire was given at 1 month after discharge
T1 and 2 months after discharge (T2).
Results: At 2 months after discharge (T2), both groups maintained the functional autonomy
obtained during hospitalization. In the GS, a statistically significant increase (0.05) was
observed in meters walked at 6MWT, walking speed over 10 m, sit to stand (STS) and adherence to
the home program (questionnaire).
Conclusions: video support was found to be effective in maintaining adherence to the proposed
home physical activity program. All patients in possession of the video continued their home
exercise consistently, keeping the benefits, which were visible in follow-up evaluations with
statistically significant results (0.05).