Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a major surgical operation where atheromatous 

blockages in a patient’s coronary arteries are bypassed with harvested venous or arterial 

conduits. In general, on-pump and off-pump are the 2 types of CABG surgical procedures 

with the difference being the use of a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit and an arrested heart to 

operate during an on-pump CABG. The World Health Organization has reported coronary 

artery disease the major cause of death in developing countries. It accounts about 13.7% of 

total number of deaths. Current burden of coronary artery disease in India stands >32 million 

patients. Unhealthy lifestyle is associated with risk factor for chronic disease such as 

Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity which is in turn major risk factor of coronary 

artery disease.

CABG was first performed in India in 1975 about 13 years after its advent in 1962. The 

annual number of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgeries carried out in India stands out 

at 60,000. Exercise capacity and quality of life are the main outcomes in cardiac 

rehabilitation (CR). Exercise capacity is one of the important prognostic and diagnostic 

measures acquired by ETT that is an estimate of VO2max, measured in units of metabolic 

equivalents (MET) . One MET is the amount of oxygen consumption required in a resting 

state, and equals 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute for an average 

adult .

The 6-min walking test (6MWT) is a simple test, which does not require expensive 

equipment or advanced training. It has been used in heart failure patients to assess exercise 

tolerance, the effects of therapy and prognosis.

2 The 6-min walk test (6MWT), as a functional 

walking test, is another tool for assessing exercise capacity that nowadays with the growing 

attention to functional and inexpensive outcome measures in therapeutic interventions, and 

for its ease of performance, has become a more applicable approach. The primary outcome 

in the 6MWT is the 6-min walk distance (6MWD), which can be used for exercise 

prescription and is also suitable for pre- and post-CR outcome assessment . Maintaining 

adequate physical endurance in later year is important to prevent Frailty and loss of 

independence, Considering the typical decline of aerobic power (Vo2 peak) of approximately 

5 ml kg/min per decade. Many inactive older adults will reach or surpass the threshold 

required for independent living by their 70s or 80s unless steps are taken to reduce the rate of 

decline