Olufunke Adewumi Ajiboye
Chrisland University, Nigeria
Title: Effects of therapeutic exercises on quality of life and upper limb muscle strength of individuals with biventricular heart failure
Biography
Biography: Olufunke Adewumi Ajiboye
Abstract
Despite remarkable progress in heart failure (HF) management, fatigue, Breathlessness, exercise intolerance and muscle wasting remain the hallmarks of the disease leading to impaired quality of life and capacity for activities of daily living (ADLs). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise training on the quality of life and Upper limb muscle strength of individuals with bi-ventricular heart failure (BVF). Sixty-six subjects with chronic bi-ventricular heart failure (BVF) in Class II and III of New York Heart Association (mean age 54.0 ± 1.6 years) recruited from a Nigerian tertiary Hospital participated in the study. They were randomized into either the exercise group or control group. These subjects were on their prescribed medications and underwent education/counselling sessions. In addition, subjects in the exercise group performed aerobic and resistance training thrice weekly for 12 weeks. The disease-specific QoL was assessed using Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) while SF-36 was used to assess the generic form of QoL. Hand Grip Dynamometer was used to assess the grip strength and One Repetition maximum to determine the upper limb strength of these patients pre and post intervention. The results showed that the exercise group had significant improvement in all domains of QoL while no significant improvement was observed in controls (p < 0.05) except in the Knowledge and Perception domains. There was statistically significant improvement in muscle strength and hand grip of those in the exercise group.. In conclusion, exercise training improves both the quality of life and upper limb strength of individuals with bi-ventricular failure.