Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract

Traditionally, patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) were advised to limit their physical activity because of the risk of fatal cardiovascular compromise. However, relatively little is known about the risks and benefits of exercise for patients with PH. The present article discussed the effects and safety of pulmonary rehabilitation in PH in light of the current literature. To sum up, exercise training has been reported to significantly improve exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL), whereas the method of intervention, exercise training duration, and patient status (including medically stable patients, immediately after intervention) varied slightly among studies. Furthermore, most of the adverse events were nonfatal and not a direct consequence of exercise training. Accordingly, exercise training in patients with PH seems safe and beneficial. However, the long-term effect of exercise in PH has not been shown. Thus, the precise mechanisms through which pulmonary rehabilitation may influence cardiopulmonary function remains unclear. Future multicenter randomized control trials with longer follow-up duration are needed to further demonstrate the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of exercise training in patients with various types of PH.Although some questions remain, exercise training in patients with PH seems safe and beneficial. Therefore, supervised rehabilitation programs for patients with PH including close monitoring should be encouraged.