Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is predictive of return to work in cardiac XXXX after multicomponent rehabilitation.

@entity1 @entity1167
BACKGROUND: Return to work (RTW) is a pivotal goal of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in @entity1 after acute cardiac event. We aimed to evaluate @entity1167 ( @entity1167 ) parameters as predictors for RTW at discharge after CR. METHODS: We analyzed data from a registry of 489 working-age @entity1 (51.5      6.9  years, 87.9  % @entity1 ) who had undergone inpatient CR predominantly after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI 62.6  %), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG 17.2  %), or heart valve replacement (9.0  %). Sociodemographic and clinical parameters, noninvasive cardiac diagnostic (2D echo, exercise ECG, 6MWT) and psychodiagnostic screening data, as well as @entity1167 findings, were merged with RTW data from the German statutory pension insurance program and analyzed for prognostic ability. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 26.5      11.9  months, 373 (76.3  %) @entity1 returned to work, 116 (23.7  %) did not, and 60 (12.3  %) retired. After adjustment for covariates, elective CABG (HR 0.68, 95  % CI 0.47-0.98; p  =  0.036) and work intensity (per level HR 0.83, 95  % CI 0.73-0.93; p  =  0.002) were negatively associated with the probability of RTW. Exercise capacity in @entity1167 (in Watts) and the VE/VCO2-slope had independent prognostic significance for RTW. A higher work load increased (HR 1.17, 95  % CI 1.02-1.35; p  =  0.028) the probability of RTW, while a higher VE/VCO2 slope decreased (HR 0.85, 95  % CI 0.76-0.96; p  =  0.009) it. @entity1167 also had prognostic value for retirement: the likelihood of retirement decreased with increasing exercise capacity (HR 0.50, 95  % CI 0.30-0.82; p  =  0.006). CONCLUSION: @entity1167 is a valid tool for assessing @entity1 ' ability to return to work. Therefore, it may be an essential part of functional assessment during CR for predicting participation in employment.
