The cardiovascular response to exercise in the patient with congestive heart failure

Individuals with moderate to severe heart failure may benefit from cardiac fitness training. However, before recommending cardiac rehabilitation to this patient population, nurses must understand exercise physiology and the effects of exercise in the individual with chronic left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). Normal cellular response to exercise, normal cardiovascular responses associated with exercise, cardiovascular adaptation to exercise training or conditioning, cardiovascular responses to exercise in patients with LVD, and cardiac rehabilitation of the patient with chronic congestive heart failure are addressed in this article. Responses to isotonic exercise, rather than isometric, are emphasized.