• cardiac surgery
• coronary artery bypass surgery

• CABG, coronary artery bypass graft
• CO, cardiac output
• CPO, cardiac power output
• V̇co₂, rate of carbon dioxide production
• V̇E, rate of ventilation
• V̇ o ₂
• rate of oxygen uptake

Through the relief of myocardial ischaemia, the goal of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is to preserve and if possible to restore cardiac function towards normality. Evaluation of cardiovascular haemodynamics has enhanced our understanding of functional disability in cardiac patients, and provided prognostic classification.¹ It is therefore important to investigate whether exercise rehabilitation following CABG is able to confer further improvements in cardiac performance as well as increasing functional capacity. Exercise rehabilitation has been reported to improve the prognosis,² exercise capacity, and cardiac performance of patients with coronary artery disease. The levels of cardiac rehabilitation service provision within the UK are very varied.³ We have therefore investigated whether a representative hospital based supervised cardiac rehabilitation programme providing early, low level, and short term exercise training can improve the cardiac and physical functional status of patients post-CABG.