Increasing Energy Expenditure of Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients

The primary aim of this intervention was to determine if a bi-weekly behavioral intervention, including energy expenditure feedback collected from an accelerometer, would increase the exercise/physical activity energy expenditure of cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) patients, particularly on days that they do not attend CRP. Our secondary aim was to determine if an increase in energy expenditure would result in greater improvements in body weight, % body fat, and functional capacity. Eleven new patients enrolling in CRP were randomized into two groups (UC: usual care, SG: study group). Both groups received services of a multi-disciplinary CRP, and bi-weekly educational lessons, designed to increase physical activity. Only those in SG received feedback on energy expenditure, as collected from an accelerometer, in combination with behavioral intervention. Mann Whitney U-test showed significant differences U = 4, p < 0.05, between groups, from baseline to follow-up for exercise/physical activity energy expenditure on non-CRP days. Paired t-tests, run on the combined sample, revealed a significant increase (p = 0.007) from baseline to follow-up for CRP energy expenditure, and a significant increase (p = 0.001) from baseline to follow-up for METs. This intervention was successful at preventing a decline in energy expenditure on non-training (non-CRP) days. Although the study design had several limitations, the results of this pilot study are encouraging.

Link to Abstract: http://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/jspui/handle/10339/14880