1 Apr 2023 • A statement released by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) advocates use of supervised exercise training(SET) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction(HFpEF). This scientific statement critically examines the currently available literature on the effects of exercise-based therapies for chronic stable HFpEF, potential mechanisms for improvement of exercise capacity and symptoms, and how these data compare with exercise therapy for other cardiovascular conditions.

Currently, clinicians tend to recognize exercise as therapy more in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Yet exercise has been broadly effective in HFpEF clinical trials, as outlined in the document. And there are good mechanistic reasons to believe that patients with the disorder can gain as much or more from SET than those with HFrEF.

The effects of SET in the disorder are "anti-inflammatory, rheological, lipid-lowering, antihypertensive, positive inotropic, positive lusitropic, negative chronotropic, vasodilation, diuretic, weight-reducing, hypoglycemic, hypnotic, and antidepressive," the statement notes.

Improved management of the large, inadequately treated population of patients with HFpEF represents an urgent unmet need. HFpEF prevalence continues to increase as a result of aging of the population and the growing prevalence of risk factors such as obesity and diabetes.

Source: American College of Cardiology | Read full story