November 12, 2018Open Access

The Effects of Physical Training on Quality of Life, Aerobic Capacity, and Cardiac Function in Older Patients With Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis

Key Result

Physical training improves quality of life, aerobic capacity, and cardiac function in older patients with heart failure.

Structured PICO

Does physical training improve quality of life, aerobic capacity, and cardiac function in older patients with heart failure?

Population

2,409 older patients with heart failure pooled from 25 RCTs. Multinational (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Taiwan, United States, United Kingdom). Age criteria: younger old (65-74 years), old (75-84 years), and oldest old (>85 years), with a minimum reference range of 50 years for African populations and 65 years for populations from developed countries.

Intervention

Physical training programs, including aerobic training, resistance training, or combined aerobic and resistance training, with varying training volumes, frequencies (1 to ≥5 sessions/week), and session durations (20 to ≥65 minutes) over 4 to 54 weeks.

Comparator

Control group against which the physical training intervention was compared.

Outcome

Quality of life (assessed by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire), aerobic capacity (assessed by the 6 min walk test), and cardiac function (assessed by left ventricular ejection fraction).patient reported

Physical training significantly improves quality of life, aerobic capacity, and cardiac function in older patients with heart failure, with training duration being a key predictor of quality of life improvements.

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%

Abstract

The present meta-analysis showed that physical training has positive effects on QoL, aerobic capacity, and cardiac function in older patients with HF. Practitioners should consider both training volume and mode when designing physical training programs in order to improve QoL and aerobic capacity in older patients with HF.

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