Il protocollo “CardioLavoro” per la valutazione del reinserimento lavorativo dopo evento cardiaco acuto: dati a 12 mesi

A multidisciplinary protocol (“CardioWork”) for work resumption after cardiosurgery (for ischaemic heart disease or valvulopathy) and cardiological rehabilitation was applied. 101 patients (93% males; 7% females) in working age (mean 50 years) were enrolled. The education level was medium-high. The patients underwent psychological and occupational medicine evaluation collecting personal data, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbility, cardiologic and occupational history. The jobs were classified as multiples of basal metabolism (METS), according to the entity of physical strain: in the 71% of patients the tasks were defined as sedentary (< 2 METS) or light (2-4 METS). These data were integrated with those obtained from instrumental cardiological evaluation (24 hours Holter ECG, echocardiography, treadmill ergometric testing) to formulate indications regarding the timing and modality of work resumption, and possible limitations to job fitness. The patients have been re-evaluated after 12 months: 84% of them have resumed working. Among these, only 8% required a change of the previous tasks. A very high compliance (almost 100%) with our indications was observed. These data strongly confirm that the intervention of the occupational physician in the rehabilitative process after cardiosurgery may optimize the evaluation of the patients’ ergonomic capacity aimed at work resumption.