الفهرس 
Heart FailureOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Heart failure is a common and costly condition. Reduced endurance is the main limiting factor of exercise capacity in HF patients. CPX is considered the most objective method to assess exercise capacity in HF patients. Aim: To study the degree of improvement among chronic stable left ventricular heart failure patients with low and average functional capacity after functional capacity based rehabilitation program. Methods: Forty patients with CHF were randomized to either a control (received their medical treatment with no specific rehabilitation program) or a rehabilitation group. Symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) was performed at baseline and at discharge from the program. Rehabilitation group was further divided according to their functional capacity measures obtained from CPX into group 1 and group 2. Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was obtained from all subjects. group 1 received electric muscle stimulation of both lower limbs 5d/w for 5 weeks. Group2 received a conventional aerobic rehabilitation program 2 or 3 times/w for about 40 sessions. VO2p, VO2-VT, VE/VCO2, peak load, HRR and MLHFQ values were compared before and after the treatment period. Results: EMS produced significant improvement of functional capacity measures in addition to quality of life. It was comparable to the aerobic rehabilitation in group 2. Both rehabilitation protocols caused significant improvement when compared to the control group. Conclusion: Functional capacity and quality of life were improved after either EMS or aerobic rehabilitation protocol when applied to selected CHF patients when compared to control patients who didn’t receive any rehabilitation program.