The Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Quality of Life in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant (TAVI) Patients

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) offers a valve replacement option for patients ineligible, or at elevated risk, for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR)₁. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has proven benefits in coronary artery disease, but its’ impact on quality of life (QoL) in TAVI patients is not well-studied_2,3,4. This review aims to evaluate how CR affects QoL outcomes in TAVI patients.

Methods: Participants included in this study, permitting availability of adequate QoL data, were categorized according to CR attendance. A two-sample t-test was used to compare QoL scores between the CR and no CR (NCR) groups at 1-year post-TAVI. Paired t-tests were then used to analyze changes in QoL scores from pre-TAVI to one-month and one-year post-TAVI.

Results: Of 31 TAVI patients, 9 attended CR. At 1-year post-TAVI, these CR participants exhibited a significantly higher average QoL value index when compared to their NCR counterparts (p = 0.0490). While both groups experienced short-term improvements, only CR participants maintained improved QoL scores, as NCR participants experienced a significant decline over one year (p = 0.0136).