Effects of virtual exercise on cardio-pulmonary performance and depression in cardiac rehabilitation phase I: A randomized control trial.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation is recommended for patients undergoing open-heart surgery (OHS). During the hospital admission, these patients suffer from reduced cardiopulmonary performance and decreased psychological health, leading to poor physical function, depression, and morbidity. To prevent post-operative pulmonary complications, a pre and post-operative physical therapy intervention is recommended for patients undergoing heart surgery. Virtual reality (VR) promotes the health status of healthy individuals and those with health conditions. However, few studies have reported the beneficial effects of VR exercise programs on the pulmonary performance and mental health status of patients undergoing OHS.

Objectives: To determine whether by using training enhanced by VR, patients who have undergone OHS can more effectively attain cardiopulmonary performance and improve depression than through conventional physical therapy.

Method: 60 participants were randomly assigned to a conventional physical therapy and VR exercise program. Each session was conducted once daily until discharge from the hospital. Cardiorespiratory performance and depression were evaluated before surgery and at the time of discharge from the hospital. A two-way mixed ANOVA was performed to compare within (i.e., pre and post-operation) and between (i.e., VR and conventional physical therapy) groups.

Results: No significant cardiopulmonary performance gains were detected in patients receiving the VR exercise program when compared with those who participated in conventional physical therapy prior to post-operative OHS (p > 0.05). However, the conventional physical therapy group showed significantly higher depression scores than the VR group (∆4.00 ± 0.98 vs. ∆1.68 ± 0.92). However, cardiopulmonary performance did not differ in both VR exercise and conventional physical therapy.