Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation Program on the Quality of Life of Young Adults versus Elderly Egyptians with Ischemic Heart Disease

Abstract Background Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is underutilized in patients after myocardial infarction, especially in the elderly population. The ageing biology of this senior population is definitely unique, and they are more likely to experience different consequences for which cardiac rehabilitation can be especially useful. Objective To investigate the impact of a 12-week completed cardiac rehabilitation program on the quality of life of two different age groups with recent myocardial infarction. Methods This non-randomized prospective cohort study was conducted on 50 patients, divided into two groups; 25 patients for each, group1 included those more than 60 years, group 2 from 18 to 60 years. Both groups underwent cardiac rehabilitation programs during the period of May 2018 to August 2020 at Ain Shams university hospitals. Quality of life assessment was performed via RAND-36 questionnaire, while depression screening was done via PHQ-9 questionnaire. Results Both groups showed improvement in the quality of life after completion of the cardiac rehabilitation program. The younger group achieved better improvement in the domains related to physical functioning, general health, role limitation due to physical health, energy/fatigue, and also showed better improvement in depressive symptoms, dyslipidemia and left ventricular Ejection fraction, whereas the senior group showed better improvement regarding role limitation due to emotional problems. Conclusion Exercise training in the context of comprehensive CR program improves quality of life in young as well as elderly patients. The young population improved mainly in the domains related to physical health while the elderly group improved regarding emotional domain in the quality of life questionnaires.