Background: While the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) have been well documented, the ability to get participants with metabolic syndrome (meta synd) to achieve clinical goals has not been fully investigated.
Objectives: To compare outcomes and percent achieving goal for anthropometric and lipid measures in CR participants who meet AHA/NHLBI criteria for meta synd upon program entry to CR participants who do not meet meta synd criteria.
Methods: In a retrospective analysis, we evaluated anthropometric and laboratory outcome measures and percent achieving goal for CR participants between January 1, 2002, and February 28, 2007. There were 536 participants who met our inclusion criterion of complete entry and exit laboratory work (cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, glucose) and anthropometric measures (weight, BMI, waist). On program entry, 352 met criteria for meta synd and 251 did not meta synd criteria.
Results: All participants, regardless of meta synd status, had statistically significant improvement in all areas with the exception of glucose. The meta synd group had significantly greater improvement in weight, BMI, waist, and triglycerides than the no meta synd group. For participants who were not at goal at program entry, there was no significant difference in the percentage reaching goal by exit based on entry meta synd status for cholesterol, LDL, glucose, BMI, and waist. However, a significantly higher percentage of the no meta synd group attained goal for HDL and triglycerides on exit compared to the meta synd group.
Conclusion: CR was effective for all participants in producing statistically significant improvements in anthropometric and lipid variables. For those who entered CR with weight, BMI, waist, lipid, or glucose values above goal, CR was equally as effective at assisting participants in reaching goals regardless of entry meta synd status with the exception of triglycerides and HDL.