Electrostimulation of Skeletal Muscles in Patients Listed for a Heart Transplant

Heart transplantation is the best way to treat terminal heart failure, which can improve the quality and life expectancy of patients, as well as contribute to their social and labor rehabilitation. Actually, the procedure of heart transplantation is a complex procedure that requires the coordinated work of cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthetists, perfusionist, nurses, as well as the administration of medical organizations. It is known that the restriction of motor activity in patients with heart failure leads to a loss of muscle mass, as well as a decrease in its strength and endurance. In patients with heart failure, the low functional status of skeletal muscle is associated with poor prognosis, regardless of gender, age, and concomitant coronary heart disease. Optimization of drug therapy and appropriate use of resynchronization therapy can improve functional status, as can patient engagement in exercise. Although exercise is recommended as a component of heart failure management, adherence is consistently low. This is particularly troubling because exercise has great potential as a low-risk, low-cost intervention to improve functional status and quality of life while decreasing heart failure symptoms and hospitalizations in patients with heart failure. Low adherence is due in part to inadequate strength and inability to tolerate or sustain even low levels of activity.

In this study, we propose to use neuromuscular electrical stimulation to assist patient initiation of quadriceps strengthening in order to progressively increase low exercise tolerance.