Physiotherapies

Biography

Biography: Olufunke Adewumi Ajiboye

Abstract

The hallmarks of chronic heart failure are fatigue, breathlessness and exercise intolerance leading to impaired quality of life and capacity for activities of daily living. Exercise training (ET) has been recommended as an adjunctive therapy but ET role in CHF has not been explored in Nigeria. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the role of ET in the management of Nigerians with bi-ventricular heart failure (BVF). Sixty six Nigerians with mean age 54.1±1.6 years, in New York Heart Association functional class II and III, recruited from Cardiology Unit of Lagos University Teaching Hospital Nigeria with BVF participated in the study. They were consecutively randomized into exercise group (EG) and control group (CG). They were monitored on their drug therapy and went through education /counselling sessions. Subjects in the EG, performed 12 weeks aerobic and resistance ET three times weekly. Assessment of functional walking capacity and muscle strength was carried out pre and post ET. Data was analyzed using the SPSS Package version 17 and presented using descriptive statistics of mean±SEM. Paired t test and Independent t test were used to compare pre and post test variables within and between the groups. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. A significant improvement was observed in all components of functional walking capacity and muscle strength (p<0.001) in EG while no significant improvement was observed in CG. Supervised and structured exercise training is safe and beneficial for patients with BVF.