Cardiovascular Risks of Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation

In 1965, ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation was initiated only for patients post myocardial infarction. Nowadays patients may join in coronary care groups unless they are symptom atic at rest or present with acute diseases. thus, an incline in cardiovascular complications could be expected. To elucidate this issue, questionnaires on the type and incidence of cardiovascular complications answered by 903 outpatients and 144 physicians were evaluated. Casualties occurred in 1 :750 000 patient exercise hours being comparable with fatality rates of healthy sports men. This rate remained unchanged despite a widened spectrum of diseases and physical activities, the latter including anaerobic sports as well. Cardiovascular symptoms were reported by 38.4% mainly occurring during warming-up (17.9%) and endurance training (61.8%). Dyspnea (40.5%) and palpitations (28.9%) were the most frequent complaints.In conclusion, the incidence of major cardiovascular complications of cardiac patients in ambulatory sports is comparable to healthy sports men. Frequent complaints require adaptation of sports programs to the type and stage of disease.