Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effects of an outpatient phase II cardiac rehabilitation program.

Design: Pre- to postintervention study with 3 data points.

Setting: Outpatient phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program.

Participants: Thirty-three patients.

Intervention: Twelve-week outpatient CR program.

Main outcome measures: The Graded Exercise Test (GXT), a standardized test, was used to assess patients' aerobic exercise capacity expressed in metabolic equivalents (METS) at prerehabilitation and 12 weeks postrehabilitation. Six-minute walk distances were also obtained on all patients at pre, 12 weeks post, and 24 weeks post.

Results: A total of 32 patients were enrolled over period of 18 months and of these 12 patients were dropped because of noncompliance. A total of 20 patient completed the study protocol. The patients were all males with a mean age of 65.8 years. The mean metabolic equivalent level (MET) for all patients at pre was 6.64 the mean 6 mute walk distance was 1,515 ft. The mean MET level at 12 weeks was 9.74 MET, a net increase of 3.1 MET, and the difference was statistically significant. The mean 6-minute walk distance at 12 weeks was 1,735 ft. At 24 weeks the mean 6-minute distance was 1,706 ft, this was statistically significant in comparison to the prevalue. Patients achieved MET level showed high correlation with their performance on the walk test.

Summary: There was a significant increase in patients' exercise capacity pre- to postrehabilitation. Improvements in exercise capacity were sustained over a period of 12 weeks postcompletion of the rehabilitation program. Improvements in exercise capacity were seen and sustained despite the geriatric age group of the cohort.

Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrate that benefits of phase II outpatient cardiac rehabilitation exist beyond completion of the standardized program with corresponding decrease in cardiovascular risk for elderly patients.