EFFECTS OF TAI CHI EXERCISES ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PULMONARY FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING

Objective: To determine the effects of Tai Chi exercises on physical activity, pulmonary function, and rate of perceived exertion in post-coronary artery bypass grafting patients. Material and Methods: A Randomized control trial was conducted in the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology/National Institute of Heart Diseases Rawalpindi Pakistan from January 2018 - July 2018. 50 post-coronary artery bypass grafting patients were calculated by the open epi tool and randomly allocated into two groups in equal halves through non-probability purposive sampling with the toss the coin method. 40-60 years males and females with >40% ejection fraction were included while vitally unstable patients were excluded. The experimental group was given Tai Chi exercises while the control group was given a bicycle.  Levels of physical activity and pulmonary functions were assessed at baseline, 4thand 6th week of training. Results: Out of the total sample size only 39 were analyzed 11 were dropped off due to not following proper follow-up, and there was no statistical difference in heart rate P=0.095. Oxygen saturation shows a significant difference with P<0.001, Physical activity was low at baseline but after exercise training, the Tai Chi group showed great improvement P< 0.01. Pulmonary functions showed statistically insignificant results P=0.865. The rate of perceived exertion was high in 2nd week and gradually decreased with the mean of 3.20 and 3.37 while the time of exercise was improved with P<0.01. Conclusion: Tai Chi exercises have better improvement in pulmonary function, rate of perceived exertion, time of exercise, and physical activity in post-coronary artery bypass grafting patients.   Keywords: Coronary artery bypass grafting, pulmonary functions, physical activity, rate of perceived exertion, Tai Chi