Cardiac Rehabilitation After Myocardial Infarction in an Athlete Patient

All acute coronary syndrome patients should be included in a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programme, which should be initiated as soon as possible after the acute event. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is recommended in all subjects with coronary artery disease to reduce cardiac mortality and rehospitalization rate. We report the case of a 50 year old male patient, a professional athlete, martial arts and box fighter, with a history of anterior myocardial infarction in 2023, diagnosed with two-vessel coronary artery disease, treated with primary percutaneous coronary angioplasty with drug-eluting stent at the level of the left anterior descending artery (LAD), complicated with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, who was included in the cardiac rehabilitation program after the acute event, with a significant improvement noted in terms of left ventricular ejection fraction and controlled physical exercise, as shown through repeated cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Regarding the return to sport after an acute coronary event, careful individual evaluation is required before starting high-intensity competitive sports.

Despite proven benefits, the rates of referral to, participation in, and implementation of cardiac rehabilitation programmes are low.