INTRODUCTION
In recent years, heart disease has increased considerably, causing a
large number of surgical procedures that aim to increase patient
survival1. There are several risks and complications
of this form of treatment that can interfere in pulmonary capacity and
physical performance, reducing the functionality of patients. The
decrease in daily activities of life due to prolonged hospitalization
can also lead to several neuromuscular, pulmonary, functional and
quality of life problems2.
Patients after cardiac surgery tend to have muscle weakness due to lack
of movement, loss of physical conditioning, inflammation, use of drugs
such as corticosteroids, muscle relaxants, neuromuscular blockers,
antibiotics and in the presence of associated neuromuscular
syndromes3. This weakness may be associated with
decreased walking speed in the postoperative period, with this variable
being associated with worse outcomes such as mortality and hospital
readmission in other profiles such as hypercapnic heart and respiratory
failure4,5.
Gait speed can be assessed using the 10-meter test6.
This test can be applied preoperatively, predicting outcomes associated
with hospital stay such as length of stay and/or
discharge7,8. Changes in the organism with the
surgical procedure cause a decline in the patient’s functional
activities in the postoperative phase, making walking a complex skill,
as gait speed tends to decrease due to the physiological changes that
occur such as the reduction of muscle strength9.
Despite these studies that correlate gait speed with the aforementioned
outcomes, when we deal with cardiac surgery there is a gap. This answer
can be useful for making decisions and directing appropriate
intervention to minimize these adverse results. The aim of this study
was to verify whether gait speed is associated with the risk of hospital
readmission in the postoperative period of coronary artery bypass
grafting.