Postoperative early mobilization significantly improved recovery and functional outcomes in patients after open-heart surgery. The findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2025.

Early mobilization in the intensive care unit can prevent weakness, atelectasis, and delays in ventilator weaning, yet implementation is often inconsistent. A twelve-month prospective before-and-after quality improvement project in the cardiac vascular surgery intensive care unit of a hospital in Taiwan enrolled 71 patients following open-heart surgery to evaluate the effects of structured early mobilization combined care.

The program included physiotherapist-led nurse training, a scheduled care guide, relevant equipment for assisted exercise, and monthly education sessions. Following implementation, the achievement rate of 3.0 metabolic equivalents (METs) exercise tolerance increased from 46.5% to 93.0%, and room-air blood oxygen saturation improved from 90–93% to 97–100%. The average intensive care unit stay decreased from 8.8 to 5.8 days, translating into approximately USD 380 saved per patient.

These results demonstrate that structured early mobilization combined care can enhance functional recovery, improve physiological outcomes, shorten hospital stays, and reduce medical costs in patients following cardiac surgery, supporting its broader adoption in intensive care units.