Is old age a contraindication to cardiac rehabilitation after acute myocardial infarction?

Fifty male patients older than 65 years of age (mean 66.3) underwent a symptom-limited exercise test on an average of 34 days after acute myocardial infarction. After 4 weeks of supervised rehabilitation training and after one-year follow-up, the patients underwent controlled exercise tests. The ergometric parameters were compared with respective values in 10 healthy males (mean age 66.4, range 65-75). The rehabilitation training induced a substantial improvement in physical capacity (total work from 3149 ± 1326 to 4791 ± 1403 kg; P <0.001) with a better cardiovascular response: increased maximum oxygen pulse (from 8.97 ± 2 to 10.7 ± 2; P <0.001), decreased heart rate (from 120.5 ± 16.1 to 111.3 ± 14.7 beats min^-1; P <0.05) and a decreased double product at a 75 W work load (from 22,866 ± 4005 to 20,472 ± 3982 beats min^-1 mmHg; P