Congestive heart failure, or CHF, is a condition in which your heart fails to pump enough blood to your body's other organs. It often results from factors such as high blood pressure, previous heart attacks or congenital heart defects. Along with medications and dietary modifications, exercise can be helpful in controlling symptoms of congestive heart failure. With a regular exercise program, you may also enjoy improved exercise capacity, quality of life and and length of life.
Exercise Capacity
With any chronic illness, a loss of conditioning may occur. However, your overall exercise tolerance can be sustained and even improved with regular physical activity, as prescribed by your physician. In a 2003 study reported in the American Heart Association's "Circulation," a majority of heart failure patients who participated in a two- to three-month cardiovascular exercise program enjoyed better endurance and less shortness of breath during activity.
Risk Factor and Symptom Reduction
For those with congestive heart failure, exercise can bring about a number of physiological benefits including improvements in blood pressure, blood flow to the heart and overall muscular strength. Exercise has proven to be effective in controlling high blood pressure, a lead contributor to CHF, which can slow the progression of CHF. Regular physical activity can also reduce symptoms such as difficulty breathing, fatigue and swelling of the legs.
Hospital Admissions and Survival
Although no large-scale studies have been conducted regarding exercise's role in reducing hospital admissions for congestive heart failure, as well as deaths from it, several smaller studies point to a correlation. "The New York Times" cited a 2009 study involving over 2,000 heart failure patients, which concluded that the exercisers cut their risk of death and hospitalization by 11 percent.
Similarly, an American Heart Association study focused on 99 patients with chronic, stable heart failure. One group underwent supervised exercise training while the other remaining sedentary. The study revealed that both the rate of hospital readmission for heart failure and the rate of cardiac-related deaths were significantly lower in those who exercised than those who did not.
Considerations
Because exercise for congestive heart failure patients is a recent recommendation, there are still unanswered questions about its role in the course of treatment. Important considerations are largely dependent on the severity of your condition and include the optimal frequency and intensity of training, the necessary duration for training effects and how long these effects last after cessation of a formal program. If you have CHF and are interested in pursuing an exercise program, consult with your physician.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Heart Failure
- "Circulation"; Exercise and Heart Failure; Ileana L. Piña, et al.; 2003
- The New York Times: For Some Patients with Heart Failure, Light Exercise May Improve Quality of Life
- "Current Controlled Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine"; Exercise Training in Heart Failure; Andrew Coats; January 2000
