Cor Vasa 2023, 65(1):39-44 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2022.081

The Effect of Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation on Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Faruk Kara, Ahmet Özderya, Gülay Uzun, Ezgi Kalaycioğlu, Muhammet Raşit Sayin, Turhan Turan

Department of Cardiology, University of Health Sciences Trabzon Ahi Evren Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Trabzon, Turkey

Objective: The effect of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on systemic inflammation was not well established in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratio has emerged as a new inflammation marker and elevated levels were found to be associated with worse clinical outcome in patients with CAD. Also, poor impaired health-related quality of life (HRQL) is an independent predictor of morbi-mortality in patients with CAD. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of exercise-based CR on N/L ratio and HRQL in patients with CAD.

Methods: We enrolled 200 stable CAD out-patients referred for Phase III CR program by their physicians (CR group). We compared them with 100 stable CAD out-patients who did not have access to CR because of travel distance or comorbid conditions that limited exercise (non-CR group).

Results: There was not a statistically significant difference in the baseline clinical and biochemical characteristics between the groups. Although N/L ratio-post and CRP-post values were lower than the N/L ratio-pre and CRP-pre in CR & non-CR groups (p <0.001 & p: 0.007 and p <0.001 & p <0.001), in the CR group N/L ratio- -post and CRP-post values were lower than the non-CR group (p <0.001 & p <0.001 and p <0.001 & p <0.001). Mac-New HRQL total-postscores were higher in the non-CR group (p <0.001).

Conclusions: Exercise-based CR program improves N/L ratio values and HRQL in patients with stable CAD. A therapy that improves systemic inflammation is important for good outcome in patients with CAD, therefore our results may have potentially significant clinical effects.

Keywords: Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation, Neutrophil, lymphocyte ratio

Received: April 3, 2022; Revised: June 24, 2022; Accepted: July 14, 2022; Published: March 1, 2023  Show citation