Long-term improvement of dyslipidemia by convalescent care in a rehabilitation unit

Journal/Book: Physikalische Medizin Rehabilitationsmedizin Kurortmedizin. 1994; 4/6: 214-219.

Abstract: During a four-week inpatient convalescence it is possible to normalize pathologically high lipid serum levels. It is an only HDL (high density lipoprotein) which does not show a uniform tendency, but the cholesterin-HDL quotient is reduced significantly (average decrease: 0.8 to 0.9).The reduction of the cholesterin-HDL quotient, which is achieved by the end of the convalescence, persists unchanged for about 13 months after convalescence is completed. In the long-term, elevated cholesterin levels remain reduced by 12 % to 14 % in about 50 % of the patients and elevated LDL levels by 21 % to 24 %. In about 2/3 of the patients the triglyceride level remains reduced by an average of 35 %.Depending an the lipid fraction, further improvements take place at home in 9 % to 20 % of the patients (i.e. a further 10 % to 23 % reduction of the levels measured at discharge). In the long-term, the HDL level increases in 2/3 of the patients by 18 % to 21 %, but remains reduced by 13 % to 17 % in 1/3 of the patients.The proportion of patients prescribed lipid reducing medicines is below 10 %, which means that the positive effects shown above are due to non-medicinal convalescence associated treatments including patients training and motivation to achieve long-term changes in life style.Therefore an inpatient convalescence appears to contribute to a long-term optimum improvement of hyperlipaemia, and hence to an improvement in the prognosis for cardiovascular diseases.

Keyword(s): Stationäre Kur

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