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Copyright of German Journal of Sports Medicine / Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Sportmedizin is the property of Verein zur Forderung der Sportmedizin Hannover e.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The benefits of rehabilitation following coronary artery surgery have been well documented but only three controlled trials following valve surgery with a total of 295 patients have been published to date. These studies have demonstrated similar benefits from exercise training with an increase in VO2 or work capacity at short term and up to 12 months after surgery. Insufficient data exist about a rise in quality of life (QOL) and about return to work which tended only to be facilitated. A multidisciplinary rehabilitation program should be offered for patients undergoing valve surgery. Besides exercise training and psychological counseling patients should be educated about anticoagulation, including drug interaction and self-management if appropriate, about the recognition of important symptoms and about the elements of a healthy lifestyle.In TAvI patients, several well designed and controlled trials show that rehabilitation in these elderlypatients with higher comorbidities is safe and leads to improvement of exercise capacity and improvement in disability favoring home discharge with more independent life at home. Further researchis needed in patients after cardiac valve surgery to address the question of mortality benefits, as well as quality of life, cost effectiveness and return to work.KEY WORDS: Rehabilitation, Cardiac valve, Mortality, Work Capacity, Quality Of Life

Aims: This prospective, randomized, controlled, multicentre study aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of exercise training in patients with pulmonary arterial (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)., Methods and Results: For the first time a specialized PAH/CTEPH rehabilitation programme was implemented in 11 centres across 10 European countries. Out of 129 enrolled patients, 116 patients (58 vs. 58 randomized into a training or usual care control group) on disease-targeted medication completed the study [85 female; mean age 53.6 ± 12.5 years; mean pulmonary arterial pressure 46.6 ± 15.1 mmHg; World Health Organization (WHO) functional class II 53%, III 46%; PAH n = 98; CTEPH n = 18]. Patients of the training group performed a standardized in-hospital rehabilitation with mean duration of 25 days [95% confidence interval (CI) 17-33 days], which was continued at home. The primary endpoint, change of 6-min walking distance, significantly improved by 34.1 ± 8.3 m in the training compared with the control group (95% CI, 18-51 m; P < 0.0001). Exercise training was feasible, safe, and well-tolerated. Secondary endpoints showed improvements in quality of life (short-form health survey 36 mental health 7.3 ± 2.5, P = 0.004), WHO-functional class (training vs. control: improvement 9:1, worsening 4:3; χ2P = 0.027) and peak oxygen consumption (0.9 ± 0.5 mL/min/kg, P = 0.048) compared with the control group., Conclusion: This is the first multicentre and so far the largest randomized, controlled study on feasibility, safety, and efficacy of exercise training as add-on to medical therapy in PAH and CTEPH. Within this study, a standardized specialized training programme with in-hospital start was successfully established in 10 European countries., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: The impact of exercise training on the right heart and pulmonary circulation has not yet been invasively assessed in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and right heart failure. This prospective randomized controlled study investigates the effects of exercise training on peak VO2/kg, haemodynamics, and further clinically relevant parameters in PH patients., Methods and Results: Eighty-seven patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and inoperable chronic thrombo-embolic PH (54% female, 56 ± 15 years, 84% World Health Organization functional class III/IV, 53% combination therapy) on stable disease-targeted medication were randomly assigned to a control and training group. Medication remained unchanged during the study period. Non-invasive assessments and right heart catheterization at rest and during exercise were performed at baseline and after 15 weeks. Primary endpoint was the change in peak VO2/kg. Secondary endpoints included changes in haemodynamics. For missing data, multiple imputation and responder analyses were performed. The study results showed a significant improvement of peak VO2/kg in the training group (difference from baseline to 15 weeks: training +3.1 ± 2.7 mL/min/kg equals +24.3% vs. control -0.2 ± 2.3 mL/min/kg equals +0.9%, P < 0.001). Cardiac index (CI) at rest and during exercise, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, 6 min walking distance, quality of life, and exercise capacity significantly improved by exercise training., Conclusion: Low-dose exercise training at 4-7 days/week significantly improved peak VO2/kg, haemodynamics, and further clinically relevant parameters. The improvements of CI at rest and during exercise indicate that exercise training may improve the right ventricular function. Further, large multicentre trials are necessary to confirm these results., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)