Patients undergoing cardiac surgery require post-operative management in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Mobilising patients in the ICU has been shown to have many beneficial effects such as increasing muscle strength and increasing health-related quality of life. As a part of routine management, patients following cardiac surgery are mobilised in ICU if they are considered haemodynamically stable. However, haemodynamic compromise is common after cardiac surgery, often manifesting as hypotension

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... and reduced cardiac output. As a result these patients may require administration of vasoactive medication while they remain in ICU. Therefore, it can be difficult to know when it may be safe to mobilise patients following cardiac surgery who are receiving vasoactive medication. There is no consensus among ICU experts regarding when it is safe to commence exercise with patients who are receiving vasoactive medication. Concerns may exist about haemodynamic instability that could potentially be exacerbated with upright positioning or mobility. Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to measure the effect of exercise in upright positioning on haemodynamic parameters of patients following cardiac surgery receiving vasoactive therapy. The secondary aims were to clarify what level of vasoactive medication may allow safe exercise, and determine the incidence of adverse events. Haemodynamic parameters that were measured included heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI), stroke volume (SV), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2). Methods: This was a prospective, single-centre, cohort study conducted in an adult ICU of a tertiary, cardiothoracic university-affiliated hospital in Australia. Ethical clearance and site-specific approval from the Prince Charles Hospital was obtained prior to data collection (HREC 17/QPCH/31). Ethical clearance was also obtained from Griffith University (GU Ref No: 2917/18 [...]