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Exercise training in pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with connective tissue diseases Full Text
Arthritis Research & Therapy, 06/21/2012
Grunig E et al. – Exercise training (ET) as add–on to medical therapy is highly effective in patients with connective tissue disease–associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD–APAH) to improve work capacity, quality of life and further prognostic relevant parameters and possibly improves the 1–, 2– and 3–year survival rate.
Methods- Patients with invasively confirmed CTD–APAH received ET in–hospital for 3 weeks and continued at home for 12 weeks.
- Efficacy parameters have been evaluated at baseline and after 15 weeks by blinded–observers.
- Survival rate has been evaluated in a follow–up period of 2.9+/–1.9 years.
- Twenty–one consecutive patients were included and assessed at baseline, and after 3 weeks, 14 after 15 weeks.
- Patients significantly improved the mean distance walked in 6 minutes compared to baseline by 67+/–52 meters after 3 weeks (p<0.001) and by 71+/–35 meters after 15 weeks (p=0.003), scores of quality of life (p<0.05), heart rate at rest, peak oxygen consumption, oxygen saturation and maximal workload.
- Systolic pulmonary artery pressure and diastolic systemic blood pressure improved significantly after 3 weeks of ET.
- The 1– and 2–year overall–survival rates were 100%, the 3–year survival 73%. In one patient lung transplantation was performed 6 months after ET.
