Absence of Fitness Improvement Is Associated with Outcomes in Heart Failure Patients

ABSTRACTPurposeThis study aimed to examine the clinical effect of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and improvements in CRF after cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in heart failure (HF) patients for their risk for all-cause mortality and unplanned hospitalization and to investigate possible factors associated with the absence of improvement in CRF after rehabilitation.MethodsWe included 155 HF patients receiving CR between October 2009 and January 2015. Patients performed an incremental bicycle test to assess CRF through peak oxygen uptake (V˙O2-peak) before and after CR-based supervised exercise training. Patients were classified as responders or nonresponders on the basis of pre-to-post CR changes in V˙O2-peak (≥6% and

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