Comparative Effectiveness of Interventional Therapy versus Exercise Rehabilitation in Stable Angina Patients with Severe Coronary Artery Stenosis.

Background: Management strategies for stable angina include pharmacotherapy, revascularization, and exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The optimal treatment for stable angina patients with severe coronary artery stenosis remains unclear. This study aimed to compare interventional therapy with exercise rehabilitation in this population.

Methods: Fifty stable angina patients with severe coronary stenosis who underwent stent implantation were included in the optimal medical therapy (OMT) plus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) group, and 50 patients who did not undergo interventional treatment were included in OMT plus CR group receiving exercise rehabilitation guidance for one year. Cardiovascular composite endpoint events, cardiopulmonary fitness, and quality of life scale scores were assessed after one year.

Results: No significant difference in incidence of cardiovascular composite endpoint events was observed between OMT plus PCI group with OMT plus CR group (20.0% vs 14.6%) after one year. Cardiopulmonary fitness represented as peak VO₂ (19.2±3.5 vs 17.6±3.2 mL/kg/min), peak load (120±19 vs 108±20 W), and AT (13.5±1.5 vs 12.1±1.3 mL/kg/min) were significantly higher in the rehabilitation group than the intervention group after one year. Both groups showed improvement in their quality of life, but the rehabilitation group improved in more scales.

Conclusion: Interventional therapy did not reduce cardiovascular events compared to exercise-based rehabilitation in stable angina patients with severe coronary artery stenosis, but the rehabilitation can improve cardiovascular fitness and quality of life more.