# A home-based VR exercise for improving depression and quality of life after heart surgery: a randomized controlled trial

## TL;DR

A home-based VR exercise program reduced depression in heart surgery patients but did not improve quality of life.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that VR-based exercise can be a novel strategy for mental health support in post-surgery cardiac rehab.

## Key findings

- VR group showed significant reduction in depression after eight weeks compared to the control group.
- No significant improvement in quality of life (SF-36 scores) was observed between the groups.

## Abstract

Exercise is an integral component of cardiac rehabilitation after open-heart surgery in both hospital and community settings, and such programs are designed to reduce adverse physical and mental health outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Virtual reality (VR)-based aerobic exercises are used for cardiac rehabilitation. We aimed to analyze the effects of an eight-week home-based phase II cardiac rehabilitation program performed in VR on depression and quality of life (QOL) in community-dwelling individuals who underwent open-heart surgery.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted, and 49 patients who underwent elective open-heart surgery were assigned to either the VR group (n=24) or the control group. Members of the control group received a paper booklet (n=25) during phase II cardiac rehabilitation. Depression and SF-36 scores were assessed at baseline and at eight weeks.

The VR group showed a significant decrease in depression after eight weeks, compared to the control group (D-1.75, p=.003, n2p=0.175). The SF-36 showed no significant differences between the VR and control groups.

A home-based VR exercise program has applications in phase II cardiac rehabilitation for open-heart surgery by reducing depression but not QOL. Therefore, integrating VR exercise into cardiac rehabilitation programs may offer a novel strategy to address mental health challenges.