None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a major health burden in Australia, with an estimated 300,000 patients affected. Our goal is to optimise approaches aimed at enhancing exercise capacity in these patients, which will directly translate to improved prognosis and morbidity in advanced CHF. Our aims will be achieved by bringing together novel biomechanical and physiological approaches that have not previously been applied in the context of CHF in testing the following hypotheses: 1) The mechanical work capacity of skeletal muscle will be significantly lower in CHF patients, compared to age-matched controls. This will be linked to sub-optimal in vivo mechanical properties of the muscle. 2) Eccentric exercise training (EET) will significantly increase a) the mechanical work capacity of the skeletal muscle and b) exercise capacity in CHF, relative to the impact of conventional exercise training approaches. Significance: Exercise intolerance is a cardinal symptom of CHF and is associated with poor prognosis.The locus of physical limitations in CHF is typically in the periphery (skeletal muscle). However, traditional approaches to exercise rehabilitation in CHF have borrowed from ideas that work in healthy populations, in whom the limitations to performance differ from those relevant to CHF. Surprisingly, no studies have investigated the relevance of in vivo skeletal muscle mechanical characteristics in these patients. Consequently, no exercise interventions have been applied which are specifically designed to ameliorate skeletal muscle biomechanical limitations in CHF. We propose that eccentric training will significantly improve skeletal muscle mechanics and exercise capacity, compared to conventional exercise approaches. The findings from this study will help to optimise exercise prescription in CHF, directly benefiting CHF life expectancy and quality, and will encourage the widespread prescription of evidence-based exercise approaches for patients with CHF.
Interventions
The purpose of this study is to determine the best type of exercise for people with heart conditions.
This intervention will include either Eccentric Exercise Training of the lower limb muscles, Conventional Resistance Exercise Training of the lower limb muscles, or no training (control group). Participants will be randomly assigned into one of these three groups.
The exercise programs will consist of 30 minutes of exercise 3 days per week for a period of 12 weeks and will be conducted in s
The purpose of this study is to determine the best type of exercise for people with heart conditions. This intervention will include either Eccentric Exercise Training of the lower limb muscles, Conventional Resistance Exercise Training of the lower limb muscles, or no training (control group). Participants will be randomly assigned into one of these three groups. The exercise programs will consist of 30 minutes of exercise 3 days per week for a period of 12 weeks and will be conducted in small classes of participants. The exercise will consist of localized calf muscle exercises and will be supervised by a trained exercise physiologist. The Conventional Resistance Exercise training is similar to standard concentric calf raises. The the participant is asked to push against a footplate in a manner to move the plate away from the foot (similar to pressing a gas pedal). In this exercise the muscles shorten as they are active. The Eccentric Exercise Training involves resisting the footplate as it forces the ankle to dorsifles (opposite direction of movement to the Conventional Resistance Exercise). In this exercise the muscles lengthened as they are active.
Sponsors
The University of Western Australia
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Chronic Heart Failure New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-IV ejection fraction <50%
Exclusion criteria
Unstable angina or exercise-induced Ischaemia at low exercise levels Severe aortic stenosis Severe mitral or aortic regurgitation Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treated hypertension >160/100mmHg at rest) Hypercholesterolaemia (total cholesterol >7.0 mmolL-1)
Outcome results
None listed