The Effect of Planned Deep Breathing along with Cardiac Exercise Rehabilitation on 6-Minute Walk and Hemodynamic Parameters in CABG Patients

Cardiac rehabilitation is a major part of the care given after CABG surgery. This study aimed to examine the effect of planned deep breathing along with cardiac exercise rehabilitation on the 6-minute walk and hemodynamic parameters in CABG patients. In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 60 cardiovascular patients who underwent CABG surgery in Rajaie Hospital in Tehran, Iran were eligible to participate in this research. Patients in the experimental group received the guidelines of planned deep breathing exercises by attending three 60-90-minute sessions of a cardiac exercise rehabilitation program per week (eight weeks total). The collected data were analyzed through SPSS software. Results showed a significant reduction in the average systolic blood pressure and heart rate of patients in both experimental and control groups after the intervention (P<0.05); however, the average rate of changes in the control group was significantly greater than experimental group (P<0.05). There was also a significant increase in the average rate of arterial oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and walk distance in 6 minutes by both patients in the experimental and control group after the intervention (P<0.05), and the experimental group experienced a significantly greater average rate of change compared to a control group (P<0.05). However, the average rate of changes in diastolic blood pressure in experimental and control groups indicated no significant difference (P>0.05). The obtained results indicated that planned deep breathing exercises along with cardiac exercise rehabilitation had a significant effect on the 6-minute test and hemodynamic parameters in patients undergoing CABG surgery.