Evaluation of physical activity of patients in the preoperative period of cardiac surgery

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) lead the ranking of causes of death in Brazil and worldwide. At the beginning of the 20th century, they were responsible for 10% of world deaths, however, in 2013, they already accounted for 31.5%. In Brazil, data from the World Health Organization (WHO), point out that CVDs caused 31% of deaths in the country in 2014, following the world average. Purpose: to evaluate the level of physical activity of patients in the preoperative period of cardiac surgery through the application of the questionnaire. Methods: The Baecke questionnaire was used as a research tool in 20 cardiac patients, referred for surgery electively, aged 30 years or over, of both sexes. The level of physical activity of these patients was analyzed from the answers they gave to two variables: Physical Leisure Exercises (EFL); and Leisure and Locomotion Activities (ALL). The evaluation of these quantitative variables was performed using Pearson’s correlation. As a result, it was noticed that 60% of the patients were male, with an average age of 53 ± 10 years. The assessment of the interdependence between the EFL and ALL indicators performed by Pearson’s linear correlation resulted in the p-value <0.0001, which is a highly significant correlation coefficient between r = 0.8648, indicating a strong correlation between the EFL and ALL. Conclusion: Patients in the preoperative period of cardiac surgery are mostly men over 50 years old who have a good level of physical fitness.