P5.11 PHYSICAL FITNESS IMPROVEMENT AFTER CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM DEPENDS ON PWV

Abstract

Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure of vascular organ damage. After a cardiac event, patients can be proposed to follow an educational and exercise program to prevent future events and improve their cardiovascular risk. We hypothesized that the improvement of aerobic performance will depend on their initial arterial health measured with PWV. 126 patients (99men, 27 women) followed cardiac rehabilitation programs of Bellan Hospital in Paris. Programs duration lasted from 1 to 4 months. Carotid femoral PWV, blood pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured in a quiet room in the morning of their first and last day prior to any exercise. VO2max was also measured at entry and at the end of the rehabilitation program. PWV was correlated with age (R2=0.23), MAP (R2= 0.10) and VO2max (R2=0.14) on the first day of the program. There was a small significant reduction in MAP (92±12 to 88±10 mmHg, p<0.001), in PWV (12.1±3.4 to 11.4 ± 3.1 m/s, p=0.002), an increase in VO2max (19.7±5.5 to 21.8±6.5 ml/kg/mm, p<0.001) but no change in resting HR (70±13 to 67±11 bpm p=0.02). When the cohort was separated into PWV tertiles at entry, patients with the lowest PWV exhibit the highest improvements in VO2max (see figure). In our cohort, physical fitness improvement depends on entry arterial stiffness with highest results for patients with low PWV and poorest results for patients with high PWV.