PURPOSE: Previous studies have demonstrated that aerobic exercise (AE) along with caloric restriction (CR) is very beneficial in older, overweight heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, few studies have evaluated the impact of resistance training (RT) in these patients. Consequently, little is known about energy expenditure (EE) associated with these types of exercises in overweight HFpEF patients, as well as the reproducibility of testing energy expenditure in this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine EE between overweight HFpEF patients participating in an AE alone versus AE+RT; and to examine the reproducibility of measuring EE in these patients.
METHODS: Nine overweight HFpEF participants of the Studies Examining Caloric Restriction and Exercise Trial II (SECRET II) participated in this study. All SECRET II participants were following a CR diet and were randomized into either an AE (n=5) or AE+RT (n=4) group. Each participant wore the COSMED K5 system during a single exercise session (~1 hr) in order to determine the total EE (kcals) for each session. Five of the nine subjects in (AE =2, AE+RT =3) wore the COSMED K5 during two different exercise sessions (within 1 week) to examine the reproducibility of EE measurement. An independent t-test was used to compare the mean total EE, during one exercise session, between the two groups. A Pearson correlation was run to examine the reproducibility in EE.
RESULTS: Despite similar exercise duration, the mean total EE during AE+RT (276 ± 182 kcals) not statistically different (p=0.53) than during AE only (263 ± 125 kcals). A Pearson correlation revealed a significant correlation (r=0.95, p=0.014) between EE measured on day 1 and day 2.CONCLUSIONS: Data from this study indicates that AE+RT and AE alone results in similar EE and that this measure is reproducible in overweight patients with HFpEF. Thus, it appears that over time, AE and AE+RT would promote similar EE and potentially weight loss in overweight HFpEF patients.