Anxiety and depression were associated with physical function, disability, and quality of life in people with chronic heart failure. Home-based exercise improved quality of life and physical function significantly but not psychological status in these patients.

Background:A hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation program can significantly improve the cardiopulmonary endurance and quality of life (QOL) in patients after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). Home-based programs for these patients have advantages of low cost and high accessibility, but little is known about their efficacy. This prospective study was designed to evaluate the effect of an 8-week home-based exercise program on muscular strength and endurance of lower limbs, aerobic capacity and QOL in OHT recipients. Methods:Thirty-seven OHT recipients were randomized into exercise (n = 14) or control (n = 23) groups. Exercise group subjects were to exercise at least 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Each subject was evaluated by Cybex testing of right quadriceps strength and endurance, 1-min sit-to-stand test, a symptom-limited maximal exercise test and QOL assessment before and after 8 weeks. Results: Subjects in the exercise group improved significantly in sit-to-stand test, fatigue index of the right quadriceps, maximal workload achieved and physical domain of QOL compared to controls after 8 weeks, regardless of older age and lower value for sit-to-stand test at baseline. Conclusions: OHT recipients can significantly improve their muscular endurance, sit-to-stand test scores and QOL after a medically directed home-based exercise program.

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Resistance training increased 6-minute walk distance compared to no training, but had no other benefits on cardiac function, exercise capacity, or quality of life if used alone or as an adjunct to aerobic training in people with chronic heart failure. However, further high quality, large scale, randomised trials are needed.

Background: To compare the results of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) of asymptomatic postmenopausal women and age-matched men and to investigate the effect of diabetes mellitus (DM) on gender differences and the risk estimation of coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: Sixty-seven postmenopausal women and 27 men low in Framingham Global Risk Score (FGRS) were recruited from year 2008 to 2009 in northern Taiwan. Each subject underwent blood tests, a cardiopulmonary exercise test, an electrocardiograph (ECG), and MPI. Results: Women had similar percentages of predicted oxygen consumption and ECG changes at peak exercise, but lower oxygen pulse and rate-pressure product. They also had significantly higher summed stress score (SSS), summed rest score (SRS), and summed difference score (SDS) than men, despite showing much lower scores for the FGRS than men. Women with DM had a lower 10-year risk of CHD assessed by the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) risk engine, but significantly higher SSS and SDS than men. In the subjects with abnormal MPI, the extent of ischemia was small to moderate in men, whereas in 50% of the women, the extent of ischemia was large. Conclusion:The results of this preliminary study suggest that asymptomatic postmenopausal women had more abnormalities in MPI and those with DM had a higher SSS and SDS than age-matched men. The risk of CAD may still be underestimated by the UKPDS.