Prehabilitation Using a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for a Patient With a Total Artificial Heart Prior to Heart Transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: The last few decades have been marked by significant advances in mechanical cardiocirculatory support. A total artificial heart (TAH) became a viable therapeutic option for numerous patients as a bridge to heart transplantation, particularly for those in end-stage heart failure. This technology aims to address the various subsequent shortfalls of organs. This report reviews the impact of a prehabilitation on a patient with an Aeson TAH (Carmat). DISCUSSION: We assessed improvements in functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) in a newly implanted patient following standard cardiac rehabilitation as a prehabilitation program, using 6-min walk test and the Short Form-12 (SF-12) health survey, respectively. Similar functional improvements were observed over a short period of 2 wk compared with a longer protocol for patients with a heart transplant, and superior effects on QoL. The patient was successfully transplanted 5 mo after the TAH implantation. SUMMARY: Prehabilitation of a patient with a TAH increased both their physical capacity and QoL.

Is hybrid cardiac rehabilitation superior to traditional cardiac rehabilitation?

BACKGROUND: The current COVID-19 pandemic imposes changes in the management of cardiac pathologies. Cardiac rehabilitation needs to define new protocols to welcome patients back. In connection with the observations of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, the choice of cardiac tele-rehabilitation appeared to be unavoidable. AIM: This retrospective research based on data from the Program for the Medicalisation of Information Systems (PMSI) and the electronic medical record analyzes the effect of Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-two patients (29 females and 163 males) with an average of 56.9 years old (±10.3) were able to benefit from a Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation program. The data concerning the Stress Test and the Wall Squat Test were collected. RESULTS: We have noticed that patients had improved their cardiorespiratory capacity on the initial and final Stress Test 6.6 (±1.8) MET to 8.2 (±1.9) MET (p < 0.0001). We also found that patients improved lower limb muscle strength 75.1 (±44.8) seconds to 105.7 (±49.7) seconds (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation protocols can be set up in this pandemic situation. The programme effectiveness appears to be comparable to the traditional model. However, additional studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of this programme in the long term.