Objective: To evaluate patients' quality of life aspects after pacemaker implantation, relating it to gender, age, and implantation timespan.Methods: A total of 107 clinically stable patients of both genders (49.5% women and 50.5% men) over 18 years old (average 69.3±12.6 years) and presenting an implantation timespan of three to 12 months (average 6.36±2.99 months) were evaluated. The evaluation included personal, clinical, and implant data as well as quality of life questionnaires (AQUAREL and SF-36). Statistical analysis was conducted using the t test and Pearson correlation. with a 5% significance level.Results: The lowest SF-36 score referred to physical aspects, and the highest score referred to social aspects. In AQUAREL. the lowest score referred to dyspnea, and the highest referred to discomfort. There was a significant association between gender and quality of life in SF-36 (physical functioning and emotional aspects) and in AQUAREL (dyspnea). A negative correlation was observed between age and quality of life (functional capacity in SF-36, and discomfort in AQUAREL) in relation to implantation timespan, a correlation with vitality from SF-36. Conclusion:Lower quality of life scores were found in physical aspects and dyspnea; and higher scores in social aspects and discomfort. Men presented higher quality of life scores related to physical functioning, emotional aspects and dyspnea. As age increases, quality of life worsens regarding functional capacity and discomfort; and the longer the pacemaker implantation timespan, the worse quality of life when it comes to vitality. Gender, age, and implantation timespan influence quality of life; thus, these variables must be considered in strategies for improving quality of life of patients with pacemakers. Descriptors

Exergaming demonstrated efficacy in reducing cancer patients' fatigue, including muscle fatigue, and increasing muscle strength in patients' legs.

Objective: To compare the strength of the middle deltoid muscle by means of dynamometry and the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) in participants in treatment for cancer after the practice of an exergaming protocol. Materials and Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial. Thirty-eight voluntary participants were divided into two groups: cancer group (n = 19; age = 61.46-8.79 years; body mass index [BMI] = 28.36-4.94 kg/m 3) and control group (n = 19; age = 57.62-7.57 years; BMI = 28.06-3.74 kg/m 3), and they participated in the study. All participants performed an exergame protocol by using Xbox 360 Kinect Ò (Microsoft, Redmond) with the game Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 two to three times per week for 20 sessions. They were evaluated through the isometric dynamometer in the middle deltoid muscle and the SPADI at three moments: preintervention (EV1), after 10 sessions (EV2), and after 20 sessions (EV3). Results: The cancer group scored higher on both the disability index, in all three evaluations, and the pain index, in EV2 and EV3, when compared with the control group. There was a significant reduction in the disability score in EV2 and EV3 when compared with EV1 in the cancer group, whereas pain was lower in EV2 and EV3 when compared with EV1 in the control group. There were no significant interevaluation or intergroup differences in the maximal isometric voluntary contraction of the deltoid muscle of both upper limbs. Conclusion: At the end of the exergaming, protocol reduced the disability of the shoulder joint of the cancer group and decreased the differences between the groups for disability and pain scores, without changing isometric force.

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