Abstract
Exercise-based training decreases hospitalizations in heart failure patients but such patients have exercise intolerance. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of 12 weeks of Tai Chi exercise and lower limb muscles' functional electrical stimulation in older chronic heart failure adults. A total of 1,084 older adults with chronic systolic heart failure were included in a non-randomized clinical trial (n=271 per group). The control group did not receive any kind of intervention, one group received functional electrical stimulation of lower limb muscles (FES group), another group practiced Tai Chi exercise (TCE group), and another received functional electrical stimulation of lower limb muscles and practiced Tai Chi exercise (FES & TCE group). Quality of life and cardiorespiratory functions of all patients were evaluated. Compared to the control group, only FES group had increased Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) score (P<0.0001, q=9.06), only the TCE group had decreased heart rate (P<0.0001, q=5.72), and decreased peak oxygen consumption was reported in the TCE group (P<0.0001, q=9.15) and FES & TCE group (P<0.0001, q=10.69). FES of lower limb muscles and Tai Chi exercise can recover the quality of life and cardiorespiratory functions of older chronic heart failure adults (trial registration: Research Registry 4474, January 1, 2015).
Highlights
The prevalence of heart failure in the aging Chinese population is increasing
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of 12 weeks of FES of lower limb muscles and Tai Chi (TC) exercise in older Chinese adults with chronic systolic heart failure in terms of physical performance, quality of life, emotional stress, and cardiorespiratory functions
21 patients had ejection fraction greater than 50%, 12 patients had myocardial infarction, six patients had undergone major cardiac surgeries, seven patients had cardiac arrest problems, nine patients were planned for cardiac resynchronization therapy, eight patients had ventricular arrhythmias, six patients had peripartum cardiomyopathy, one patient had amputation of a lower extremity, and 17 patients had cognitive dysfunction
Summary
Patients hospitalized with heart failure have a risk of depression and high-cost care [1]. Heart failure patients have exercise intolerance [2]. Exercise-based training improves survival and decreases hospitalizations in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients [3]. Weeks 2–5 Repetition of warm-up exercises Tai chi movements Raising the power Withdraw and push. Weeks 6–9 Repetition of warm-up exercises and Tai chi movements Brush knee twist step Grasp sparrows tail. The right brachial artery 2.1 cm above the elbow was selected for measurement of flow-mediated dilatation evaluation. A scan after deflation of the cuff was performed after a 100-s interval. Flow-mediated dilatation was measured according to the following equation [19,20]: [Flowmediated dilatation = branchial arterial diameter – branchial arterial diameter after deflation of cuff / branchial arterial diameter].
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