Does exercise affect CHFers life span?
– Dr. Romualdo Belardinelli said that trials show exercise improves Vo2max, may reduce the size of enlarged hearts and improve heart function, and prevents constriction of blood vessels. He stated that EF does not predict response to exercise training, or outcome from it. Dr. Belardinelli agreed with Dr. Hambrecht that EF and exercise capacity are not related! Reporting on a study of 135 patients, Dr. Belardinelli said that long-term exercise training is more effective than short-term training, and can reduce 10-year mortality by 20%. His study disagrees with the EXERT trial, which showed that exercise training did not improve survival. Dr. Belardinelli’s 99 patient study showed that Vo2max improved at 2 and 11 months versus untrained patients. Four years later, survival was higher in the exercise group. This study also suggests that exercise gives benefits in CHFers regardless of age or cause of heart failure. Dr. Belardinelli also mentioned the ExtraMATCH trial. This 801 patient stud
