The effect of sitting Baduanjin in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention: A randomized controlled trial
Description
Background: Early cardiac rehabilitation plays a crucial role in the recovery of patients following percutaneous coronary intervention. The effect of seated Baduanjin exercises on cardiac function and psychological well-being in patients with acute myocardial infarction remains to be explored. Objective: We aimed to investigate the effects of seated Baduanjin exercises on patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction following percutaneous coronary intervention. Design: The study was designed as a single-center, prospective randomized controlled trial. Participants: A total of 159 patients with stable ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention were included and analyzed (79 and 80 in the intervention and control groups, respectively). Methods: Patients in the intervention group received daily seated Baduanjin training in addition to seven-step rehabilitation exercises, whereas those in the control group received seven-step rehabilitation training twice daily. Demographic information, medical history, diagnosis, treatment, as well as anxiety and depression levels before admission were collected. Differences in heart rate variability indicators, exercise capacity, and anxiety and depression status between the two groups during hospitalization were analyzed. Results: Following the intervention, the intervention group exhibited lower rates of abnormalities in the following heart rate indicators than the control group: standard deviation of sinus heart beat RR intervals (26.6% vs. 57.5%, P < 0.001), root mean square of the difference between adjacent RR intervals (29.1% vs. 45.0%, P = 0.038), low frequency (24.1% vs. 48.7%, P = 0.001), and high frequency (21.5% vs. 36.2%, P = 0.041); these differences were statistically significant. Additionally, following the intervention, the median scores of GAD-7 and PHQ-9 in both groups were lower than those at admission, with the intervention group exhibiting lower scores than the control group (Z = −3.860, P < 0.001; Z = −4.002, P < 0.001). The six-minute walking distance after the intervention was greater in the intervention group than in the control group (387.53 ± 38.41 vs. 371.39 ± 42.92, t = 2.498, P = 0.014). Conclusions: In China, seated Baduanjin training has shown the potential to enhance heart rate variability, cardiac function, and psychological well-being in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention. It also appears to improve exercise capacity before discharge.