Functional recovery and exercise behavior in men and women 5 to 6 years following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery

Improvement following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery has been reported to be less in women than men. Relationships between exercise behavior and functional status of men and women 5 to 6 years after CABG have not been examined in a representative patient sample. This study compared the 5- to 6-year recovery in a cohort of 184 patients at the Minnesota site of the Post CABG Biobehavioral Study. Data were collected by telephone interview and self-administered questionnaires. Results showed that women had lower physical (p ≤. 004) and social (p = .001) functioning scores; men were more likely to participate in regular exercise (p = .01). Exercisers had higher functional status scores. ANCOVA demonstrated that differences in measures of functional status by exercise category were maintained even after controlling for age, sex, and symptom severity (p ≤ .01). In conclusion, individuals who exercised had more positive functional outcomes 5 to 6 years post-CABG.