EFFECTIVENESS OF AUGMENTED WALKING UPON FUNCTIONAL STATUS AMONG POST OPERATIVE CABG PATIENTS AT SELECTED HOSPITALS, CHENNAI

Abstract

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the commonly performed surgical procedure to reduce the risk of death from coronary
artery disease. The incremental physical activity training in the post-operative period aids the recovery process and results in positive
consequences. Methods and Materials: An experimental study was conducted among post CABG patients to assess the effectiveness of
augmented walking for improving their functional status among 70 patients, who were randomized to experimental group and control group (35 in
each group) by systematic random sampling technique. Functional status was assessed in both groups on the third post-operative day. Augmented
walking was performed by the investigator for the experimental group of patients till the 6th post-operative day, while routine care was followed for
control group. Post-test was done for both the groups on the seventh post-operative day. Results: Post-operative CABG patients in the
experimental group had signicantly improved functional status after augmented walking (95%) with the mean score of 79.14 ± 8.33 and 2.74 ±
0.66 for shortness of breath and distance walked, compared to the control group functional status (77.14%) with the mean score of 44.17 ± 3.95 and
4.83 ± 0.89 for distance walked and shortness of breath respectively. Conclusion: The present study reveals that augmented walking is considered
as a suitable method to objectively improve the functional exercise capacity among post CABG patients. The nurses should be trained on
augmented walking to be implemented for the post CABG patients.