1. Introduction
’s loss of function, KFS
COMPLICATIONS
Objective: We aimed to determine the effects of prehabilitation with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on muscle status and exercise capacity in patients before cardiac surgery. Methods: Preoperative elective cardiac surgery patients were randomly assigned to the NMES group or control group. Intervention in the NMES group was 7–10 sessions, whereas the control group carried out breathing exercises and an educational program. The outcome measures included a six-minute walk test (6MWT) and a muscle status assessment (knee extensor strength (KES), knee flexor strength (KFS), and handgrip strength (HS)) after the course of prehabilitation. Results: A total of 122 patients (NMES, n = 62; control, n = 60) completed the study. During the NMES course, no complications occurred. After the course prehabilitation KES, KFS, and 6MWT distance were significantly increased (all Due to an ageing population, the number of elderly patients undergoing heart surgery is increasing. The risk of such an operation is higher in elderly patients, therefore all risk assessment scales include age, but such assessments are incomplete and are not able to accurately predict the risk of surgery in clinical conditions. Since biological age cannot characterize the degree of the patient’s loss of function, it is proposed that the concept of “frailty” is used to reflect this parameter [Studies have shown that these methods also allow you to further assess the risk of cardiac surgery [As a result, researchers propose that, in the decision-making process on the possibility of cardiac surgery in elderly patients, the frailty and muscle status, and not the age of the patient, are taken into account [