Water exercise in coronary artery disease patients, effects on heart rate variability, and body composition: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Purpose: It is important to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of water-based training programs in order to prescribe it as an alternative in cardiac rehabilitation for patients who have coronary artery disease (CAD). In these patients, autonomic dysfunction is an important physiological change strongly associated with adverse outcomes, morbidity, and mortality. Given that the beneficial effects of physical training in CAD patients have been traditionally evidenced with programs involving land-based aerobic exercises, this study aims to evaluate the effects of water aerobic exercise training (WAET) on the autonomic modulation of heart rate (HR) and body composition, in the rehabilitation of CAD patients.