Low frequency electrical muscle stimulation and endothelial function in advanced heart failure patients

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Author
Ennis, Stuart
McGregor, Gordon
Shave, Rob
McDonnell, Barry
Thompson, Andrew
Banerjee, Prithwish
Jones, Helen
Date
2018-07-03Acceptance date
2018-03-29
Type
Article
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
2055-5822
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Aim
Obtain initial estimates of the change in brachial artery endothelial function and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2peak) with 8 weeks of low‐frequency electrical muscle stimulation (LF‐EMS) or sham in patients with advanced chronic heart failure.
Methods and results
Using a double blind, randomized design, 35 patients with chronic heart failure (New York Heart Association class III–IV) were assigned to 8 weeks (5 × 60 min per week) of either LF‐EMS (4 Hz, continuous) or sham (skin level stimulation only) of the quadriceps and hamstrings muscles. Four of the five sessions were at home and one under supervision. Ultrasound images of resting brachial artery diameter and post 5 min occlusion to determine flow‐mediated dilation (FMD), a marker of vascular function and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) during cardiopulmonary exercise test, were measured before and after LF‐EMS (n = 20) and sham (n = 15) interventions. FMD improved by 2.56% (95% confidence interval: 0.69 to 3.80) with LF‐EMS compared with sham (P = 0.07). There were no notable changes in VO2peak.
Conclusions
Improvements in FMD with LF‐EMS may have a clinically meaningful effect as higher FMD is associated with better prognosis. This is a preliminary finding, and a larger trial is warranted.
Journal/conference proceeding
ESC Heart Failure;
Citation
Ennis, S., McGregor, G., Shave, R., McDonnell, B., Thompson, A., Banerjee, P. and Jones, H. (2018) 'Low frequency electrical muscle stimulation and endothelial function in advanced heart failure patients', ESC Heart Failure, 5(4), pp.727-731.
Description
Article published in ESC Heart Failure available open access at https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.12293
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
Collections
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