Effect of exercise prehabilitation on quality of recovery after cardiac surgery: a single-centre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Physical prehabilitation can enhance patient resilience to surgical stress, but its effects are unclear in vulnerable and frail patients. We aimed to determine the effect of a structured exercise prehabilitation programme on the quality of recovery after cardiac surgery in vulnerable and frail participants.

Methods: This single-blinded, parallel-arm, superiority, randomised controlled trial recruited patients with a Clinical Frailty Scale of 4-6 undergoing cardiac surgery.