Experience with the armchair treatment of 81 patients with acute coronary thrombosis and myocardial infarction has been recently reported.1 These patients received customary management except that they were allowed to sit in a chair for varying and increasing portions of the day. The chair treatment was usually instituted within 24 to 48 hours and in all instances within a week after the onset of the attack. The immediate results were favorable. The patients experienced a continued sense of wellbeing and high morale; the occurrence of pulmonary edema and congestion was prevented; there was a negligible incidence of other complications; and there was no increase and possibly a decrease in mortality.
Complete endorsement of this method of therapy, however, is contingent on its effect on the eventual course and prognosis. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate long-range results. The objection has been raised that keeping patients sedentary