ABSTRACT
Cardiac surgical patients frequently are physically deconditioned prior to surgery as a result of their underlying cardiac disease. The patient with chronic valvular disease may be restricted by dyspnea on exertion resulting from underlying pulmonary edema. The patient with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease may be limited by angina pectoris or a recent myocardial infarction. Upon entering an outpatient program, each patient should have a thorough medical evaluation and a symptom-limited graded exercise test (SL-GXT). The medical evaluation should include a complete medical history, risk factor screening, cardiovascular examination, and laboratory blood tests. The SL-GXT may consist of a treadmill or a bicycle ergometer exercise test. The mode of exercise training selected usually is one type of aerobic exercise or a combination of exercises. To improve endurance, frequency of training should be at least three times per week, although many programs exercise daily.
