Daily physical activity and prognostic implications in patients with heart failure: an accelerometer study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Exercise Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Physical activity (PA) measured by accelerometry is a potential novel trial endpoint for heart failure (HF).
• Standardized methods and associations with established markers for accelerometry in HF are lacking.
• This study investigated PA measurements, accelerometer repeatability, and correlations with HF prognostic markers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine physical activity (PA) measurements and accelerometer repeatability in heart failure (HF) patients and controls.
• To study correlations between accelerometer-derived PA and established prognostic HF markers, body composition, and quality of life (QoL).

Main Methods:

• 105 HF patients (LVEF ≤ 40%) and 46 controls underwent accelerometry.
• Participants also completed dual X-ray absorptiometry, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, 6-minute walking test (6MWT), echocardiography, NT-proBNP measurement, and QoL questionnaire.

Main Results:

• HF patients exhibited markedly reduced average acceleration (16.1 mg) compared to controls (27.2 mg).
• HF patients spent significantly less time in moderate-to-vigorous PA (12 min/day) versus controls (56 min/day).
• Average acceleration in HF patients correlated moderately with 6MWT and peak VO2, but not with NT-proBNP, LVEF, or QoL.

Conclusions:

• Daily physical activity is severely reduced in HF patients compared to healthy individuals.
• Accelerometer measurements show moderate correlations with physical capacity markers in HF patients.
• Accelerometer data did not correlate with LVEF or NT-proBNP in this HF cohort.