Abstract
BackgroundPhysical inactivity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The benefits of exercise in patients with chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, are well established. For patients with sickle cell disease, medical recommendation was to avoid physical exercise for fear of triggering painful crises or increasing the impairment of the cardiopulmonary function. Only recently, studies have shown safety in exercise programs for this population. Despite that, there is no report that assess the effects of physical exercise on cardiac parameters in patients with sickle cell disease.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of regular physical exercise (a home-based program) on cardiovascular function in patients with sickle cell disease.DesignA quasi-randomized prospective controlled trial.SettingDuring the years 2015 and 2016, we started recruiting among adult patients treated at a Brazilian Center for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease to participate in a study involving a home exercise program. The experimental (exercise) and control groups were submitted to clinical evaluation and cardiovascular tests before and after the intervention. Analysis of variance was applied to compare groups, considering time and group factors.ParticipantsTwenty-seven adult outpatients with a sickle cell disease diagnosis.InterventionsExercise group (N = 14): a regular home-based aerobic exercise program, three to five times per week not exceeding give times per week, for eight weeks; no prescription for the control group (N = 13).Main outcome measuresEchocardiographic and treadmill test parameters.ResultsThe exercise group showed significant improvement in cardiovascular tests, demonstrated by increased distance traveled on a treadmill (p<0.01), increased ejection fraction (p < 0.01) and improvement of diastolic function assessed by mitral tissue Doppler E’ wave on echocardiography (p = 0.04). None of the patients presented a sickle cell crisis or worsening of symptoms during the exercise program.ConclusionThe selected home-based exercise program is safe, feasible, and promotes a favorable impact on functional capacity and cardiovascular function in sickle cell disease patients.
Highlights
Sickle cell disease (SCD) refers to a group of inherited hemolytic diseases attributable to hemoglobin mutation, with a hemoglobin S pattern predominant in electrophoresis [1]
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of regular physical exercise on cardiovascular function in patients with sickle cell disease
During the years 2015 and 2016, we started recruiting among adult patients treated at a Brazilian Center for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease to participate in a study involving a home exercise program
Summary
Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The benefits of exercise in patients with chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, are well established. For patients with sickle cell disease, medical recommendation was to avoid physical exercise for fear of triggering painful crises or increasing the impairment of the cardiopulmonary function. Studies have shown safety in exercise programs for this population. There is no report that assess the effects of physical exercise on cardiac parameters in patients with sickle cell disease
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