This study determined whether a pre-operative cardiac “pre-habilitation” (Prehab) program improves the health of elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients to a greater extent than standard care (StanC). Seventeen elective CABG patients were randomized to StanC (n= 9) or Prehab (n= 8) at Baseline and were followed at 1-2 weeks pre-operatively (Preop) and Three months post-operatively. Functional walking ability was assessed using the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and 5-meter Gait Speed Test. Baseline data was not different between groups. Patients in StanC did not improve 6MWT scores; whereas Prehab patients improved 6MWT distance by 35% and 39% at Preop and Three months post-operatively, respectively (p<0.05). Gait speed scores were 25% and 27% lower in Prehab patients at Preop and Three months post-operatively, respectively, as compared to StanC (p<0.05). These data suggest that Prehab is an attractive intervention for enhancing functional walking ability before and after elective CABG surgery.

This study determined whether a pre-operative cardiac “pre-habilitation” (Prehab) program improves the health of elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients to a greater extent than standard care (StanC). Seventeen elective CABG patients were randomized to StanC (n= 9) or Prehab (n= 8) at Baseline and were followed at 1-2 weeks pre-operatively (Preop) and Three months post-operatively. Functional walking ability was assessed using the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and 5-meter Gait Speed Test. Baseline data was not different between groups. Patients in StanC did not improve 6MWT scores; whereas Prehab patients improved 6MWT distance by 35% and 39% at Preop and Three months post-operatively, respectively (p<0.05). Gait speed scores were 25% and 27% lower in Prehab patients at Preop and Three months post-operatively, respectively, as compared to StanC (p<0.05). These data suggest that Prehab is an attractive intervention for enhancing functional walking ability before and after elective CABG surgery.