Usefulness of Upper and Lower Limb Muscles Strength in the Evaluation of Clinical Severity of Heart Failure in Elderly Patients

Aim: Assess upper and lower limb functions in elderly with heart failure (HF) and evaluate its relation to HF severity. Methods: Handgrip strength (HGS) in kilograms (kgs.) of both hands using handle mechanical dynamometer and counting the repetitions (rep.) of stand and sit on a chair during 30 seconds [the 30 seconds chair-stand test (CST)] were used in 71 elderly (≥65 years old) patients with clinically stable HF and other matched 32 healthy elderly as a control. HF was diagnosed clinically, by plasma B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and by echocardiography. The New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification of HF was used to obtain two groups: NYHA class I-II (33 patients), and NYHA class III (38 patients). Results: Showed significant decrease in both HGS and CST score in all HF patients (9.7 ± 4.4 kgs., 8.8 ± 3.1 rep., respectively) compared to controls (77.8 ± 11 kgs., 13.5 ± 1.1 rep., respectively, p Conclusion: Upper and lower limb muscles strength, assessed by two easy andinexpensive tests (HGS and CST), may reflect clinical severity of HF in elderly patients who cannot usually perform exercise tests. Its prognostic value requires further follow-up studies to verify.