Background This study aimed (1) to assess the nutritional status and dietary intake,(2) compare the body composition and nutritional intake between sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia, and (3) evaluate the effects of resistance training and amino acid intake in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods Study 1 In total, 172 adults with CHD were prospectively enrolled. The Food Frequency Questionnaire was used, and body composition analysis was conducted. Study 2: Thirty of 172 adult patients with CHD were …

Reduced skeletal muscle mass is the most important component of sarcopenia. Aging and chronic diseases, including chronic heart failure, are the causes of reduced skeletal muscle mass. However, little is known about the mechanism of skeletal muscle mass reduction in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The purpose of this study was to assess the associations among skeletal muscle mass reduction, endothelial function, and other markers of advanced vascular damage in CVD patients. This was a retrospective cross-sectional …

This study aims to evaluate the association between duration of overweight/obesity and arterial stiffness. In total, 103 men and women aged 45–68 years with a body mass index (BMI) of≥ 25 kg/m2 were enrolled in this study. Duration of overweight/obesity was calculated for individuals with at least two consecutive BMI occurrences of≥ 25 kg/m2 in the previous (5-year intervals from 20 years old) and present BMI information. Multiple regression analysis showed that carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, an index of arterial …

Purpose of the study High intensity interval training (HIIT) is able to improve the endothelial-dependent microvascular function is people with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc). Resistance training (RT) alone has shown significant improvements in the function of the vasculature; moreover, a combination of aerobic and RT have shown both in the past and recently to significantly improve the vascular function and the microcirculation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of a combined exercise …

Background Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), an important index of physical fitness, is the ability to inhale and provide oxygen to the exercising muscle. However, despite its importance, the current gold standard for measuring CRF is impractical, requiring maximal exercise from the participants. Objective This study aimed to develop a convenient and practical estimation model for CRF using data collected from daily life with a wristwatch-type device. Methods A total of 191 subjects, aged 20 to 65 years, participated in this study …

Obesity is an important risk for cardiovascular disease and has a severe impact on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, being a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease. In this paper, using a previously developed model, that described the complex links between respiration, heart rate and arterial blood pressure (Psa) during cardiovascular regulation, we investigate the variation of heart rate as response of vagal and sympathetic activities. For this reason, the amplitude and frequency of breathing are varied. The correlation between …

This study is a prospective evaluation of the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in terms of clinical outcomes for small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) that were previously reported in a retrospective cohort study. We conducted a prospective non-randomized trial on patients with small AAA (N= 40; mean age 75.0±6.6 years). Patients were enrolled into one of two groups, rehabilitation (CR) or non-rehabilitation (non-CR) group. Only CR group participated in a supervised-CR program including bicycle ergometer for 150 days. The AAA …

Aims Obesity induces left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and ultimately causes heart failure. Sarcopenic obesity is common in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, the precise mechanism by which sarcopenic obesity is related to HFpEF is poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the combined effect of sarcopenia (SP) and obesity on left ventricular diastolic function and exercise capacity. Methods This study included 733 healthy subjects who underwent health check-ups in a tertiary hospital in …

The aim of this study was to evaluate selected parameters of strain and rotation of the left ventricle (the basal rotation (BR) index, the basal circumferential strain (BCS) index, and the global longitudinal strain (GLS) of the left ventricle) in male athletes with physiological cardiac hypertrophy (LVH group), and athletes (non-LVH group) and non-athletes without hypertrophy (control group, CG). They were evaluated using transthoracic echocardiography and speckle tracking echocardiography before and after an incremental exercise test. The …

Background Impaired exercise capacity is one of the most important prognostic factors for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a widely used method for assessing exercise capacity in patients with COPD. However, the 6MWT requires considerable effort from patients. Therefore, a less physically demanding, but also noninvasive, method is warranted. The objective of this study was to determine the predictors of the 6MWT distance (6MWD) in patients with COPD. Methods This retrospective …