EXERCISE TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH CONGESTIVE-HEART-FAILURE - HOW TO ACHIEVE BENEFITS SAFELY

Exercise training should be viewed as adjunctive therapy in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Prolonged bed rest for these patients has been abandoned, and physicians should prescribe it only in the acute unstable phase. Chronic inactivity has a natural history of gradual deterioration and high morbidity, despite pharmacologic intervention. Stable, compensated patients with CHF can safely enter a supervised exercise program and will probably receive beneficial effects. Appropriately selected patients can be instructed to follow self-monitored home exercise programs. Training adaptations are primarily peripheral and require sufficient time to accrue. Therefore, physicians and patients must approach exercise training with realistic long-term goals.