Cardiopulmonary Capacity and Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Overview

Heart Failure is a progressive disorder that begins after an insult to the heart muscle resulting in the loss of functional cardiomyocytes, or even compromising the ability of the myocardium to contract and/or relax normally. A common finding in heart failure is exercise intolerance that generates a vicious cycle, in which the individual starts to limit his activities even further due to progressive fatigue. Studies demonstrate that regular physical exercise can increase the aerobic capacity of these individuals, delay the anaerobic threshold, and reestablish the sympathovagal balance. Paradoxically, many of these patients assume an even more sedentary lifestyle, which leads to a greater physical limitation and the progression of symptoms. Patients with heart failure present a 30% reduction in their ability to perform their daily life activities when compared to healthy individuals, and this has also been attributed to reduced muscle mass, as well as lower aerobic capacity. In this sense, strength training increases the torque and muscular endurance, capacity and functional independence, as well as the quality of life, reducing the morbidity of individuals with and without cardiovascular disease, with a lower overload to the cardiorespiratory system. It is known, however, that daily life activities require a combination of resistance and muscle strength. Aerobic training does not improve muscle strength, just as traditional strength training does not ideally represent the movements performed during daily life activities, since it does not include exercises on unstable surfaces and exercises on different axes. Functional training emerges as a simple and low cost alternative for the treatment of patients with heart failure. This method consists of integrated movements of the body, in several axes, involving joint acceleration and deceleration, stabilization, strength and neuromuscular efficiency. It aims to improve the functional capacity of the individual using exercises that relate to their specific physical activity, transferring their gains effectively to their daily lives. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of functional training on cardiopulmonary capacity and quality of life in patients with heart failure, comparing it to strength training.

Individuals with cardiac heart failure, in functional class II and III (according to the New York Heart Association), residents of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, of both genders and aged ≥ 18 years, will be recruited from the Outpatient Clinical of Heart Failure of the Hospital de Clínicas of Porto Alegre, RS/ Brazil. At the end of the initial evaluations of each participant, they will be randomly allocated in one of two groups: functional training group (FTG) and strength training group (STG). After the consent of the participants, the author of the research will start collecting the data, by completing an anamnesis form. The following evaluations will be performed before the start of the study and immediately after the end of the research, by prior appointment: cardiopulmonary capacity, quality of life, functionality, palmar grip strength, maximum inspiratory pressure, endothelial function and lean body mass. Both groups will perform the exercise training three times per week, during 12 weeks, totaling 36 sections.