Key result
Exercise training improves survival, symptoms, and quality of life while lowering costs in stable HF.
Why the study?
Heart failure leads to cardiac, circulatory, and skeletal muscle alterations that become restrictive during exertion, causing frequent hospitalizations and high mortality, necessitating multidisciplinary management and tailored exercise training.
Highlights progressive skeletal muscle changes limiting exertion in HF; leaves open optimal physical therapy protocols to reduce hospitalizations.
Heart failure develops secondary to an insult to the cardiovascular system. The insult results in cardiac, circulatory, and skeletal muscle alterations. These compensatory alterations may initially be effective in normalizing cardiocirculatory function. However, in time, the changes become restrictive, especially during exertion. Consequently, many heart failure patients are frequently hospitalized, suffer from functional limitations, and have a high mortality rate. Management of heart failure patients has become increasingly multidisciplinary, and the composition of the team and relative importance of its members must constantly change depending on the patient's status. This review outlines factors that contribute to exercise tolerance, a marker of clinical severity of the disease. In addition, the role of exercise training for these patients is defined. Evidence indicates that patients with stable heart failure should participate in exercise training. The guidelines for and components of exercise training are similar to other clinical populations. However, the exercise prescription should be tailored to each patient's unique demands and goals. As a result of training, many of the peripheral abnormalities improve. These improvements translate to increased exercise tolerance, reduced activity-related symptoms, and improved quality of life. Finally, exercise training increases survival time and decreases health care costs.
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Welsch et al. (2004) conducted a review in Heart failure. Exercise training was evaluated. Exercise training in patients with stable heart failure improves exercise tolerance, reduces activity-related symptoms, improves quality of life, increases survival time, and decreases costs.
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