The effects of Pilates Exercise on Strength and Quality of Life in Post-Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Cardiac Patients

Purpose: Coronary artery bypass graft is associated with numbers of physical and psychological problems. One of the aims of the cardiac rehabilitation program is to improve health related physical fitness factors and quality of life. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to investigate the effect of eight weeks pilates exercise on the strength and quality of life in heart patients after coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods: Twenty-two women with cardiac problem under coronary artery bypass grafting were selected and divided randomly into two equal groups: experimental (mean ± SD, age 60.4±8.8 years, height 157.5±6 cm, weight 77.5±13 kg) and control groups (mean ± SD, age 62.8±8.1 years, height 154.4±3 cm, weight 77.4±9.5 kg). Experimental group performed pilates exercise for eight weeks, three sessions per week and each session took an hour, while the control group did not perform any exercise. The hand grip strength (hand-held dynamometer) and the quality of life (MacNew questionnaire), were measured before and after the pilates exercise intervention in all of patients. The data were analyzed with repeated measures analysis of variance (p 0.05). In total, significant differences were observed in strength between experimental and control groups (p<0.05). Quality of life of experimental group showed significant improvement after the pilates exercises (p<0.05). In total, significant differences were observed in quality of life between experimental and control groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that Pilates exercise improve strength and quality of life in women with heart disease after coronary artery bypass surgery, so it can be recommended as a part of rehabilitation program for these patients.