Table 1.

Benefits of formal cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training programs

Improvement in exercise capacity

Estimated metabolic equivalents, +35%

Peak oxygen consumption, +15%

Peak anaerobic threshold, +11%

Improvement in lipid profiles

Total cholesterol, −5%

Triglycerides, −15%

HDL-C, +6% (higher in patients with a low baseline)

LDL-C, −2%

LDL-C/HDL-C, −5% (higher in certain subgroups)

Reduction in inflammation

hs-CRP, −40%

Reduction in indices of obesity

BMI, −1.5%

Fat, −5%

Metabolic syndrome, −37%

Improvements in behavioral characteristics

Depression

Anxiety

Hostility

Somatization

Overall psychological distress

Reduction in stress-related increased mortality

Improvements in quality of life and components

Increased heart-rate recovery

Increased heart-rate variability

Reduced resting pulse

Improvements in blood rheology

Reduction in hospital costs

Reduction in major morbidity and mortality

hs-CRP, high-sensitive C-reactive protein; HDL-C, HDL cholesterol; LDL-C, LDL cholesterol. Reprinted from Swift et al. with permission of the publisher. Copyright © 2013, The Japanese Circulation Society.