Effects of continuous aerobic training associated with resistance training on maximal and submaximal exercise tolerance, fatigue, and quality of life of patients post-COVID-19.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dyspnea, fatigue, and reduced exercise tolerance are common in post-COVID-19 patients. In these patients, rehabilitation can improve functional capacity, reduce deconditioning after a prolonged stay in the intensive care unit, and facilitate the return to work. Thus, the present study verified the effects of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation consisting of continuous aerobic and resistance training of moderate-intensity on pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, maximum and submaximal tolerance to exercise, fatigue, and quality of life in post-COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study with a protocol of 12 sessions of an outpatient intervention. Adults over 18 years of age (N = 26) with a diagnosis of COVID-19 and hospital discharge at least 15 days before the first evaluation were included. Participants performed moderate-intensity continuous aerobic and resistance training twice a week. Maximal and submaximal exercise tolerance, lung function, respiratory muscle strength, fatigue and quality of life were evaluated before and after the intervention protocol. RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation improved maximal exercise tolerance, with 18.62% increase in peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) and 29.05% in time to reach VO2 peak. VE/VCO2 slope reduced 5.21% after intervention. We also observed increased submaximal exercise tolerance (increase of 70.57 m in the 6-min walk test, p = 0.001), improved quality of life, and reduced perceived fatigue after intervention. DISCUSSION: Patients recovered from COVID-19 can develop persistent dysfunctions in almost all organ systems and present different signs and symptoms. The complexity and variability of the damage caused by this disease can make it difficult to target rehabilitation programs, making it necessary to establish specific protocols. In this work, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation improved lung function, respiratory muscle strength, maximal and submaximal exercise tolerance, fatigue and quality of life. Continuous aerobic and resistance training of moderate intensity proved to be effective in the recovery of post-COVID-19 patients.

Association between performance on the Glittre ADL-test and the functional capacity of patients with HF: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The Weber classification based on peak VO2 is a well-established method for categorizing patients with heart failure (HF) regarding severity. However, other submaximal tests such as the Glittre ADL-Test have been gaining prominence in practice due to a coherent and more comprehensive correlation with limitations for performing activities of daily living in patients with heart failure.Objective: To investigate the correlation between the time required to perform the Glittre ADL-Test and the peak VO2 in patients with HF.Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted with 40 adult individuals (21 to 65 years) diagnosed with HF of all etiologies, with LVEF<50% and NYHA II and III.Results: The average time for performing the Glittre ADL-Test was 284.9 seconds, and a significant difference was found between Weber classification classes A and C (p = .01). Significant correlations with peak VO2 were also found (r = -0.424 - p < .01). Thirty (30) patients performed a second test, and the ICC found in the reproducibility analysis was 0.75 (95% CI 0.14-0.91) and p < .01.Conclusion: The Glittre ADL-Test was able to reflect the functional performance of individuals with HF, suggesting that it represents an evaluation tool which can be safely used in clinical practice.