Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

Abstract

People who suffer from a cardiac event can greatly benefit from cardiac rehabilitation (CR). However, CR services are underutilized13. To help increase participation rates, the effectiveness of a traditional hospital-based CR program was evaluated in terms of several important physiological variables. Methods: Community-dwelling adults, age ranging from 46 to 85 years (n=10), were asked to complete a hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation program, with several variables being assessed. At the first and final visits, participants were asked to complete a 6-minute walk test (6 MWT) with baseline measures of resting and exercise heart rates (HR); resting and exercise blood pressures (BP) were also measured. Results: Five of the 10 participants completed the program. A significant increase was found in the distance covered in the 6 MWT (pre =1116 ± 366.6 feet, post =1499 ± 482.0; p=0.021). In addition, a significant decrease was found in resting systolic BP (pre =152.8 ± 13.6 mmHg, post =139.6 ± 15.3; p=0.045). However, no differences were found in resting diastolic BP, or exercise BP and HR. Conclusion: Improvement in some, but not all, of the variables measured, shows that cardiac rehabilitation programs can be a valuable treatment to help improve the participants’ health. Improving cardiorespiratory endurance and blood pressure can decrease the risk of future cardiac events.

Advisor

Todd Keylock

Second Reader

Amy Morgan

Semester

Spring

Year

2015

Degree

M.Ed.

Program

Kinesiology

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