Patients undergoing median sternotomy during open-heart surgery can safely commence cardiac rehabilitation up to four weeks earlier than currently recommended, UK researchers suggest.

According to results from a clinical trial involving some 160 adults, starting post-sternotomy exercise training at two weeks was just as safe and effective as the typical time of six weeks.

“Social function and economic productivity can be restored more quickly, leading to a substantial positive effect on quality of life,” the University of Warwick-led team reported in JAMA Cardiology.

In the non-inferiority study, the authors assigned patients (mean age 63; 84% male) recovering from median sternotomy to eight weeks of twice-weekly supervised cardiac rehab exercise training starting at either two or six weeks following surgery.