Comparison of Supervised Hospital-based versus Educated Home-based Exercise Training in Korean Heart Failure...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Exercise training (ET) is proven to enhance functional capacity and clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients.
• Limited data exists comparing supervised hospital-based ET with home-based ET for HF management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of supervised hospital-based ET versus physiotherapist-educated home-based ET in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction.
• To assess improvements in functional capacity, quality of life (QOL), and cardiac events.

Main Methods:

• A single-center, non-randomized prospective study involving 82 HF patients (ejection fraction ≤40%).
• Participants were divided into a supervised hospital-based ET group (n=30) and a home-based ET group (n=52).
• Assessments included functional capacity (peak oxygen consumption - VO2), QOL, and cardiac events over a 3-month ET program and one-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• Peak VO2 significantly increased in the hospital-based group (p=0.006) but not in the home-based group (p=0.660).
• The change in peak VO2 was significantly greater in the hospital-based group compared to the home-based group (p=0.014).
• Quality of life (QOL) improved significantly in the hospital-based group (p=0.003), with no significant difference in cardiac events between groups after one year (p=0.570).

Conclusions:

• Hospital-based ET effectively improves functional capacity and QOL in HF patients.
• No significant superiority of hospital-based ET was observed over home-based ET regarding composite cardiac endpoints.
• Further research is needed to define the optimal roles of different ET programs for HF patients.