Early physical activity and its effects on functional capacity and quality of life in post-surgery cardiac patients

The heart and blood arteries make up the cardiovascular system. Heart and blood vessel problems together referred to as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) include congenital heart disease, cerebrovascular illness, and coronary heart disease. It is expected that CVD will remain the leading cause of death and disability in the world going forward. Medication therapy, exercise, a balanced diet, and heart surgery are the main treatments for CVD. Cardiovascular surgery has decreased CVD mortality and tended to become less invasive with the rapid development in CVD treatment. After cardiac surgery, exercise helps people heal, but not enough exercise can make recovery more difficult. Physical activity following heart surgery is crucial for minimizing unfavorable outcomes, although postoperative patient participation in physical activity has typically been insufficient. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of early physical activity on patients undergoing heart surgery's quality of life and functional ability. This study was carried out for heart surgery at the Ibin AL-Bitar Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. In all, 100 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 who had cardiac surgery (52 men and 48 women) willingly took part in the study. From the first postoperative day (POD) to the seventh POD, all patients took part in the early physical activity program in the surgical wards and intensive care unit (ICU). This program comprised the following: In the ICU, on the first or second POD, shoulder and neck movements, breathing exercises, and postural drainage are performed. Breathing exercises, postural drainage, and supervised walking in increments of 2.5 minutes, as tolerated, up to 10 minutes in the morning, afternoon, and evening, as well as at night, are recommended for patients in the surgery ward from 3 to 7 POD. The six-minute walk test (6MWT), the short form-36 quality of life (SF-36), and the short form-international physical activity questionnaire (SF-IPAQ) were utilized as outcome measures. On the seventh postoperative day, every patient finished examinations and questionnaires. According to statistical analysis, there was a statistically significant correlation between the SF-IPAQ score and the 6MWT and SF-36. The results of this study showed that patients who engaged in an early physical exercise program following heart surgery had improved functional capacity and overall quality of life. 26 February 2024, 86 Pages Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, cardiac surgery, physical activity, functional capacity, quality of life.