An exercise regimen designed to put minimal strain on the heart improved aerobic capacity and strength in older patients with heart failure, according to a new study.
Nineteen older adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction participated in one of two exercise programs for four weeks. One group practiced Peripheral Remodeling through Intermittent Muscular Exercise. The PRIME program involves high-repetition, high-duration training that focuses on skeletal muscles with relatively low central cardiovascular strain. The other group participated in combined aerobic exercise and resistance training.
While participants gained strength from both programs, only those in the PRIME program experienced significantly improved aerobic capacity, reported researcher Jason David Allen, Ph.D., from the University of Virginia, and colleagues.
“These findings support the hypothesis that PRIME may have potential advantages for older patients with heart failure with ejection fraction, and could be a possible alternative exercise modality,” the authors concluded.
Full findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
