Key result
Exercise improves functional capacity in heart failure patients with below-median galectin-3, but not above-median levels.
Why the study?
Does exercise training improve functional capacity in patients with heart failure?
RCT
Does exercise training improve functional capacity in patients with heart failure?
The effect of exercise on functional capacity in heart failure patients may depend on baseline levels of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic biomarkers such as galectin-3.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Exercise may benefit functional capacity only in heart failure patients with low galectin-3; extends biomarker-stratified rehabilitation evidence.
among participants with below median (2.4 ± 0.8 vs. -0.3 ± 0.9 ml/kg per min, p = 0.032), but not among those with above median galectin-3 blood levels (0.3 ± 0.7 vs. -0.7 ± 1.0 ml/kg per min, p = 0.41, p for interaction = 0.053). Conclusion In patients with heart failure, levels of biomarkers that reflect pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic processes were associated with differential effect of exercise on functional capacity. Further studies should evaluate whether exercise training can improve clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure and low levels of these biomarkers.
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Fernandes-Silva et al. (2017) conducted an RCT in heart failure. exercise was evaluated on functional capacity. Exercise improved functional capacity in heart failure patients with below-median galectin-3 levels (2.4 vs -0.3 ml/kg/min, p=0.032), but not in those with above-median levels (p=0.41).
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