Cardiac reinnervation affects cardiorespiratory adaptations to exercise training in individuals with heart transplantation

• Published in: European journal of preventive cardiology 2020-07, Vol.27 (11), p.1151-1161
• Main Authors: Ciolac, Emmanuel G, Castro, Rafael E, Marçal, Isabela R, Bacal, Fernando, Bocchi, Edimar A, Guimarães, Guilherme V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2047-4873; 2047-4881
• DOI: 10.1177/2047487319880650

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the hemodynamic and cardiorespiratory adaptations to exercise in individuals with heart transplantation with evidence of cardiac reinnervation (cardiac reinnervation group) versus without evidence of cardiac reinnervation (no cardiac reinnervation group). Methods Sedentary individuals with heart transplantation (age = 45.5 ± 2.2 years; time elapsed since surgery = 6.7 ± 0.7 years) were divided into the cardiac reinnervation (n = 16) and no cardiac reinnervation (n = 17) groups according to their heart rate response to cardiopulmonary exercise testing. The 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, and cardiorespiratory fitness were assessed before and after 12 weeks of a thrice-weekly exercise program (five minutes of warm-up, 30 min of endurance exercise, one set of 10–15 reps in five resistance exercises, and five minutes of cool-down). Results The cardiac reinnervation group had reduced (p