Rehabilitation of patients with NCA (neurocirculatory asthenia) through a short term training program

Twenty-two patients, 18 years old, with the predominant somatic type of NCA, and a control group of 22 healthy subjects participated in a short term training course lasting three weeks. Following the training the NCA subjects showed a significant change in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure after 5 minutes of recumbency as well as in the systolic blood pressure after 5 minutes of standing, diastolic pressures during 50 W load and submaximal effort (100-150 W) - all the values being significantly lower following the training, except the diastolic pressure during 50 W load which was higher following the course. The prominent training effect was on the heart rate during light work loads (50 W) in which a decrease from a mean of 151.2 +/- 13.9 to 118.3 +/- 16.3 beats/min was recorded. This decrease indicates the better adaptation of the NCA patients to physical effort. Similarly, a significant increase in the mean VO2max from 31.5 +/- 6.1 to 37.7 +/- 5.9 ml O2/kg B.W./min was observed. No changes were recorded in the ECG after the short training course. Following the training all the symptoms typical of the NCA syndrome vanished. A short physical training of 3 weeks can start the procedure of rehabilitation of a well selected group of NCA patients with predominant somatic complaints. The rehabilitation must be continued throughout life by continued physical training.