Cardiac rehabilitation of patients following myocardial infarction

Abstract

Introduction. IM is responsible for almost 1.8 million deaths annually or 20% of all deaths in Europe and 15% of all deaths globally. The problem of increasing the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation of patients with myocardial infarction is one of the central ones in modern cardiology and have great medical and social importance, as it predominantly affects people fit for work, mostly men (aged 40 to 50 years, and are about 5 times more affected than women). Aim of study. Studying the influence of therapeutic exercise complexes used in patients rehabilitation with myocardial infarction to assess the beneficial effects on health. Methods and materials. A bibliographic study of scientific literature specialised at cardiac rehabilitation following myocardial infarction. Results. Literature data suggest the importance of medical rehabilitation treatment for post-infarction patients in combination with pharmacological treatment. Each session should include 3 phases: a warm-up period, the prescribed aerobic phase and a cool-down phase (relaxation). The program is individualised, so it is necessary to select precisely the type, intensity, duration and frequency for maximum therapeutic effect. Ordinary prescribed frequency of exercise sessions is 3 to 5 times per week. The recommended training duration is 20 to 60 minutes. Criteria for dosing exercise are heart contraction frequency. The intensity should increase gradually. Exercise intensity of 50 to 85% of VO2max seems necessary to improve VO2max (maximal oxygen consumption during the gradual increase of physical exertion). Conclusion. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is a supplement to drug therapy and post-infarction interventional surgery, because it improves cardio-pulmonary function, optimises drug therapy, decreases cardiac risk factors, increases exercise tolerance, improves mental status, reduces the risk of heart attack and mortality.