Exercise is safe, and improves clinical outcomes for patients with heart failure, according to study results reported at the recent American Heart Association (AHA) 2008 Scientific Sessions.
Heart Failure: A Controlled Trial Investigation Outcomes of Exercise Training (HF-ACTION) is the first large-scale, randomized, study examine the effects of structured exercise programs on the clinical outcomes of patients with heart failure. Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it involves 82 cardiology programs in the U.S., Canada, and France. Results of the study have implications for patient care and for insurance coverage for cardiac care exercise programs, according to researchers.
The results reported at the AHA conference were from data on 2,331 patients with moderate to severe heart failure. The average age of the patients was 59, and 28 percent were women. Researchers compared patients who received usual care and followed a specially tailored exercise programs with those who received only usual care.
When researchers compared death rates and hospitalization rates (from all causes, including cardiac incidents) they didn’t find any signification differences for patients in structured exercise programs. However, more refined analyses underway — taking into consideration factors such as history of atrial fibrillation, how well patients adhered to their exercise prescriptions, and what other lifestyle modifications play a role — revealed that exercise has positive effects.
Heart failure, the inability of the heart muscles to pump enough blood to the body’s tissues, affects an estimated 4.8 million Americans. While treatable with drugs, it is currently incurable. About 50 percent of people diagnosed with heart failure will die within five years.
The HF-ACTION program started patients with three 30-minute workout sessions, three times a week, in a supervised setting. They then transitioned to 40-minute workouts, five times a week, at home. The study found that the tailored exercise program, involving treadmills or stationary bicycles, proved to be both safe and effective for those who followed it.
A lack of definitive data about the benefits of exercise in treating heart failure has limited insurance coverage for the treatment. Researchers said they hope results of this large-scale study will lead to changes in both patient care and insurance coverage.
A detailed description of the study, in layman’s terms, appears on DukeHealth.org. “Past studies have sent mixed signals about the merit of exercise for patients with heart failure,” said Kathryn Flynn, PhD, a health services researcher at Duke who is a lead author on the study. “The HF-ACTION study shows that exercise is not only safe for patients, but also helps to improve the quality of their lives, overall.”
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November 30th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
It seems like business is still getting hit hard. Is anybody seeing an upswing in their respective niches? Health reform seems like a mess. I generate long term care insurance leads and annuity leads for the insurance industry, but volume has been terrible in the last two months. I am afraid the worst is yet to come, but maybe it is just my attitude.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Thanks for the comment, Jack.
Despite a weak economy and the emergence of risk associated with health care reform, people will need to be accurately diagnosed and properly treated for the range of cardiology related illnesses and conditions.
While no dramatic upswing has been seen, management reported last quarter that business across most business units had stabilized in the third quarter and that stabilization is expected to continue until market conditions and budgeting schedules return to a more normal pattern.