Are Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Patients Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines?
Bernice C Yates, Bunny Pozehl, Kevin Kupzyk and 2 others
PMID 29203953WHAT IT FOUND
Heart failure patients averaged under 1 minute of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily, and bypass patients 18.5 minutes.
Self-report overstated activity; objectively few met 150 weekly minutes.
Key findings
01Heart failure patients averaged under 1 minute of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day by accelerometer, and none met the 150 min/week guideline objectively.
02Coronary artery bypass graft patients averaged 18.5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day, 129.5 minutes per week; 56% reported meeting the guideline, but only 33% did objectively.
03CABG patients were significantly more active than heart failure patients in light and moderate-to-vigorous activity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, convenience-based, and mostly Caucasian men, so it may not apply to other patients. Heart failure patients were older and had lower ejection fraction than bypass patients, so group differences may reflect clinical status rather than behaviour alone. Two different self-report questionnaires were used for the two groups. The analysis counted all moderate-to-vigorous activity rather than only 10-minute bouts, which may overestimate guideline attainment. This was a secondary analysis of prior studies and did not test whether monitoring, counselling, or exercise prescription changes activity or outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that activity trackers or nurse counselling improve outcomes. The study measured current activity and recommended monitoring; it did not test an intervention. Do not assume patients accurately report activity, because self-report guideline attainment was higher than objective measurement.