Heart Rehabilitation Programs Benefits Young

While heart attacks can occur at any age, research performed on programs aimed at rehabilitating the heart have mostly been conducted on older populations. Young people with coronary artery disease have been shown in recent studies to have a poorer prognosis compared to older people. A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine has shown that young cardiac patients actually benefit more than older patients from cardiac rehab programs. Researchers evaluated the behavioral data, quality of life and risk profiles of more than 600 patients before and after cardiac rehab programs. 104 patients less than 55 years of age and 206 patients, whose average age was 75 years, underwent cardiac rehabilitation for 12 weeks. The younger participants were found to have higher body mass indicies, and higher levels of triglycerides, bad cholesterol, anxiety and hostility when compared to the older participants. They also had lower levels of the good cholesterol or HDL. Interestingly the younger patients had more dramatic improvements from the program. BMI decreased by 2% and percentage of body fat by 4%. A 10% increase in HDL was also noted. In addition, the program significantly reduced depression and anxiety. Overall, cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training appear to be beneficial in improving cardiac risk factors and psychological profiles in younger patients. Future research may be useful to streamline the level of cardiac rehabilitation programs for maximum benefits.