Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Patient Outcomes

March 9, 2026 updated by: Ismail Okur, Kutahya Health Sciences University

The Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Functional Capacity, Depression, Quality of Life, and Sleep Quality in Patients With Heart Disease: A Retrospective Study

Objective: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the impact of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on functional capacity, depressive symptoms, and the quality of life and sleep in patients with heart disease.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who participated in a structured CR program. Clinical records were reviewed to compare pre- and post-rehabilitation outcomes. Functional capacity was assessed using the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), while depressive symptoms, health-related quality of life, and sleep quality were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Short Form-36 (SF-36), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

65

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Center
      • Kütahya, Center, Turkey (Türkiye), 43100
        • Kutahya Şehir Hastanesi Yoncalı Yerleşkesi

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD), status post-myocardial infarction (MI), stable angina, or those who have undergone cardiac surgery
  • Availability of complete pre- and post-rehabilitation clinical records, including 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), BDI, SF-36, and PSQI scores.
  • Patients classified as stable by a cardiologist prior to the initiation of the exercise program.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of severe orthopedic, neurological, or musculoskeletal disorders that prevent the performance of the 6-Minute Walk Test or exercise training.
  • Patients with severe cognitive impairment
  • Unstable angina pectoris, uncontrolled arrhythmias, or advanced heart failure (NYHA Class IV) that contraindicates aerobic exercise.
  • Patients who dropped out of the rehabilitation program before completion or had more than a 20% absence rate in sessions.
  • Patients who underwent major non-cardiac surgery within the last 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cardiac Rehabilitation Group
Patients in this group participated in a structured, multidisciplinary cardiac rehabilitation program. The intervention included individualized aerobic exercise training, resistance exercises, patient education, and psychosocial counseling.
Other: Exercise Based Cardiac Rehabilitation
The intervention consists of a structured, exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program. The exercise protocol was tailored to each patient's clinical status and typically included aerobic endurance training complemented by resistance training for major muscle groups. Each session lasted approximately 40-60 minutes, consisting of a 10-minute warm-up, 20-40 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or high-intensity interval training (1:1 ratio), and a 10-minute cool-down period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Functional Capacity
Time Frame: Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
unctional capacity is assessed using the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). The distance walked in 6 minutes is recorded in meters. An increase in distance indicates improved functional exercise capacity.
Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
Change in Depressive Symptom
Time Frame: Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
Assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The BDI is a 21-item self-report scale. Scores range from 0 to 63, where higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.
Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
Change in Quality of Life
Time Frame: Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
Assessed using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey. It consists of 36 items covering 8 dimensions of health. Scores range from 0 to 100 for each subscale, with higher scores representing better health status.
Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
Change in Sleep Quality
Time Frame: Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)
Assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The PSQI consists of 19 individual items generating 7 component scores. The global score ranges from 0 to 21; higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality (scores >5 suggest significant sleep disturbance).
Baseline and and post-intervention (6 week later)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Kutahya Health Sciences University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 14, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

March 8, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KSBU- 2023/10-13

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared due to institutional policies regarding data privacy and the protection of sensitive patient information under national data protection laws.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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