Exercise Training Can Reverse Vascular Stiffness

But the optimal dose and timing have not yet been identified.

Heart failure, whether with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), is associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Because the development of HFpEF is likely mediated through increased left ventricular (LV) stiffness, investigators studied whether exercise training could reverse LV stiffness (NCT02039154).

The 61 healthy, but sedentary, middle-aged participants (mean age, 53; 46% men) were randomized to 2 years of aerobic and resistance exercise training or balance and stretching (control). Each exercise-training participant was provided with an individualized training plan. Investigators calculated a training stiffness constant (derived from end-diastolic pressure-volume relationships) from right heart catheteri…

Reviewing Author

Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD, FACC

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBoehringer Ingelheim; Amgen; Novartis; Lilly; Amarin

Speaker’s BureauBoehringer Ingelheim

Grant/Research SupportNIH

Editorial BoardsCirculation (Associate Editor)