[Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation: initial experience in the first Hungarian multicenter study].

Introduction: This paper assesses the first controlled multicentric investigation of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation in Hungary. Framing and starting of the program was carried out beside the Hungarian experts by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Aims: To prove the extreme importance of cardiac rehabilitation, both inpatient and outpatient, after the hospital treatment of cardiac emergencies.

Methods: 531 patients were collected at the beginning of the study from three Hungarian cardiological centers having cardiac surgery and cardiac rehabilitation ward. 167 patients were ranked into the outpatients group (Group A), 311 were rehabilitated in hospital (Group B) and 53 served as control (group C). After physical, ergometric and echocardiographic examinations and psychometric evaluation (Beck and WHOBREF questionnaires) the patients of Group A and B performed a conducted training three times weekly for 3 months. All the patients were examined 3 and 12 months later.

Results: Significant improvement of ergometric data was observed in both groups of patients who underwent rehabilitation training, but this was not the case with control patients. This improvement could not be observed after one year. The number of anginal attacks and the need of hospital treatment also showed a significant reduction in Groups A and B.

Conclusions: The data have proved that cardiac rehabilitation has an extremely important role in the stabilisation of heart functions and general health of patients after acute myocardial infarction or heart surgery. It was also proved, that 12-week rehabilitation training is not sufficient to achieve long-term stabilization. Sufficient data have accumulated during the study about the effectiveness and safety of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation as an alternative to inpatient service.