| Summary: | Hemorheological variables are strong predictors of coronary heart disease. Several cross-sectional
and longitudinal training studies on healthy populations suggest that physical activity
improves hemorheological profile through a decrease in whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity
(VIS), hematocrit (HCT), and fibrinogen (FIB). Although cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRP)
have proven to be effective at reducing mortality, morbidity and improving cardiac risk factors, it
is unclear whether CRPs improve hemorheological profile in secondary prevention patients. The
purpose of this study was to determine if CRP improves plasma rheology, HDL cholesterol,
triglyceride levels and exercise capacity. Fifteen subjects enrolled in a three month CRP program
had HCT, FIB, and VIS measured on three occasions: twice before the CRP intervention, and
once at the end of the CRP intervention. Changes in HDL, triglycerides, and exercise capacity
were measured before and after the CRP intervention. There were no significant differences in
any of the hemorheological variables over time [HCT (p=0.330); FIB (p=0.275); VIS (p=0.533)].
There was a modest, but statistically significant correlation between fibrinogen and plasma
viscosity (p=0.035, r = 0.319). Exercise capacity, as measured by time completed on the Bruce
treadmill protocol, improved significantly (p<0.00l). HDL cholesterol levels and triglyceride
levels just failed to reach significance (p=0.08 and p = 0.123 respectively). This study suggests
that CRP provides enough exercise stimulus to increase exercise capacity; however, CRP does
not provide adequate stimulus to bring about the hemorheological changes observed in other
studies. === Education, Faculty of === Kinesiology, School of === Graduate
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