Efficacy of a Phase III Cardiac Rehabilitation Program on Physical Exercise in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

PURPOSE: Our purpose was to assess the efficacy of a phase III cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program, based on counseling in the maintenance of physical exercise, on the time spent on physical exercise per week in patients with ischemic heart disease who had completed a phase II CR program. METHODS: Open, controlled, cluster randomized clinical trial. The intervention group (IG) participated in a phase III CR program based on counseling in the maintenance of physical exercise. The control group (CG) received standard care at their primary health care center. The main outcome was the time spent engaging in physical exercise per week at 6 and 12 months measured by the 7-day Physical Activity Recall questionnaire. RESULTS: Fourteen primary health care centers were randomly assigned, 7 to the CG and 7 to the IG. Ninety-nine patients (54 CG, 45 IG, mean age 59.8 ± 9.3, 86% men) were analyzed. The mean time per week of moderate and vigorous activity at 12 months was 270.7 ± 292.6 min/week in the CG and 321.0 ± 216.9 min/week in the IG ( P = .124). Decreases in the percentages of patients who performed the recommended levels of physical exercise were observed in both groups (14% vs 9% in the CG and IG, respectively; P = .869). CONCLUSIONS: The intervention did not result in significant differences in the stated objectives of the CR program, although the IG performed a greater amount of moderate and/or vigorous exercise.