Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients With Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices:Rehab VAD Trial

Cardiac rehabilitation programs improve mortality, functional capacity, and quality of life, for a variety of patients with heart disease. It stands to reason that patients with LVADs might therefore also benefit from the same structured exercise training, education, and clinical surveillance. One potential benefit of cardiac rehabilitation in this patient population is reversal of the skeletal muscle atrophy that occurs due to extended periods of poor peripheral perfusion (i.e. before implantation) and prolonged sedentary behavior.

Purpose: The purpose of this proposed study is to examine the effects of a 6-week exercise program on cardiorespiratory fitness, quality of life, and device flow rate in patients with recently implanted LVADs.

Methods: 30 patients with recently implanted LVADs will be referred by the Henry Ford Hospital Advanced Heart Failure Program once the patient is deemed appropriate for exercise. Before enrollment into cardiac rehabilitation patients will undergo a six minute walk test and graded exercise stress test on a treadmill to determine exercise capacity. Additionally, a quality of life questionnaire will be given.

Following the stress test, patients will be randomized (2 to 1 ratio) into either cardiac rehabilitation or control. Those chosen to be in the control group will be encouraged to maintain daily activities; those in the rehabilitation group will partake in 6 weeks of a standard cardiac rehabilitation program. This will consist of 3 days a week of supervised exercise as well as education regarding diet and lifestyle modifications.

At 6 weeks after randomization both groups will again undergo fitness assessments and retake the quality of life questionnaires.