Evaluation of cardiovascular function and quality of life in patients with heart failure with and without sedentary behavior

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the recognized benefits of practicing physical activity in patients with cardiovascular disease, it is believed that patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction with non-sedentary behavior may present an improvement in cardiovascular function and quality of life compared to sedentary patients, even if they do not practice regular physical exercise. The aim of the present study was to compare functional capacity, systolic and diastolic cardiac function and quality of life of sedentary and non-sedentary patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Methods: Patients with heart failure and ejection fraction below 50% were divided into two groups, Sedentary (n = 45) and Non-Sedentary (n = 36), using the IPAQ questionnaire. These two groups were evaluated with clinical evaluation, quality of life SF-36 questionnaire, Cooper walking test and transthoracic echocardiography. They were compared by Chi-Square test for categorical variables or Test T or Man-Whitney for continuous variables; the level of significance adopted in the statistical analysis was 5%. Results: The groups were homogeneous in relation to the baseline characteristics and etiology. The Non-Sedentary Group had fewer patients with severe symptoms (p <0.01), less necessity of digitalis (p = 0.02) and better left ventricle fractional shortening (p = 0.03). There was no apparent difference in the walk-test data between groups. Additionally, there was a greater impairment in the functional capacity of the SF-36 Questionnaire in the Sedentary Group. Conclusion: Considering the sample limitation, patients with heart failure and non-sedentary behavior have greater tolerability to exercise because they have fewer limiting symptoms and better quality of life in the functional capacity domain than sedentary patients.