Rehabilitation of elderly with coronary heart disease – Improvement in quality of life at a low cost

The aim of this randomized controlled study was to evaluate healthcare consumption, self-reported health-related quality of life and to calculate the costs of the training programme, in a cohort of 101 consecutive elderly patients ≥65 years admitted to the Coronary Care Unit at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden due to an acute coronary event. The patients in the intervention group (n=50) participated in a 3-month aerobic group training programme 3 times a week. The control group were encouraged to take daily walks and to restart their previous physical activity when they felt fit enough for it. Significant improvements (p≤0.05) were seen over time in the intervention group in health-related quality of life, measured with EuroQol and Time Trade Off, as well as in physical activity level and self-estimated well-being (p≤0.05). No significant differences were found between the two groups in healthcare consumption or morbidity. The actual cost for the training programme was low, both for the healthcare system and for each single patient. The main findings in this study were low costs and a high compliance to the training programme. The intervention group also increased their level of physical activity and scored a higher quality of life than the control group – two important factors for a healthy lifestyle when elderly.