Effects of 8-week Rehabilitation Exercise on Vascular Health

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8-week rehabilitation exercise on active vascular
health and ultimately propose an effective rehabilitation program applying various stretching methods. The
research targets were females who visited hospital due to chronic diseases or metabolic syndrome; and
were divided into two groups, participants of rehabilitation exercises, and non-participants of rehabilitation
exercises. 10 people were included in each group. The subjects were restricted to participate in other
exercise programs during the exercise period. The 8-week exercise program was designed to measure the
ankle brachial index (ABI) and the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) using active stretching and passive
stretching. In the data processing, descriptive statistics were presented for each measurement item and a
2-way RGRM ANOVA was conducted to examine the interaction effects between groups. The results have
shown significant interaction effects in ankle brachial index (ABI) and the cardio-ankle vascular index
(CAVI). Therefore, the eight-week rehabilitation campaign has shown to have a positive effect on vascular
health and is believed to be an effective preventive measure to reduce the incidence and risk of cardiovascular
disease. Also, this rehabilitation program is thought to help prevent cardiovascular disease if it is provided to
more elderly people since which does not require special places or specialized equipment.