Olufunke Adewumi Ajiboye
University of Lagos, Nigeria
Title: Therapeutic exercises improves quality of life of individuals with bi-ventricular heart failure
Biography
Biography: Olufunke Adewumi Ajiboye
Abstract
Despite remarkable progress in heart failure management, fatigue, breathlessness, exercise intolerance and muscle wasting remain the hallmarks of the disease leading to impaired quality of life (QoL) 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 of individuals with bi-ventricular heart failure (BVF). 66 subjects with chronic 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 exercise group and control group. They were on their prescribed medications and underwent education/counseling 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. Data was analysed using the SPSS package version 17 and presented using descriptive statistics of Mean±SEM. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. The results showed that subjects in exercise group had significant improvement in all domains of QoL while significant improvement was observed only in knowledge and perception domains of subjects in control group after 12 weeks of exercise training. Therapeutic exercise improves both the general health and symptoms experienced by individuals with chronic Bi-ventricular heart failure.