Exercise to Improve Sleep in Heart Failure
Heart Failure
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Heart Failure focused on measuring heart failure, sleep, exercise, heart rate variability
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Classified by the cardiologist, primary physician, or nurse practitioner as having no dyspnea (shortness of breath, air hunger) at rest but fatigue, dyspnea, or anginal (primarily chest/arm/back/neck) pain or discomfort with either ordinary (New York Heart Association classification, NYHA Class II) or less than ordinary (NYHA Class III) physical activity. They could have been Class I (no symptoms) if they were originally diagnosed as having NYHA Class II or III but had responded to treatment. Patients must have had evidence of at least one clinical episode of HF diagnosed by a physician or nurse practitioner as fatigue, shortness of breath, and pulmonary congestion. Patients had to have stable HF (defined as no hospitalizations for 3 mos, no medication changes for 1 mo, no dyspnea at rest, and no sustained resting heart rate greater than 95 bpm). Exclusion Criteria: Patients were considered ineligible for the study based on the following criteria obtained from the patient's physician or nurse practitioner: Diagnosed with Pickwickian syndrome, an extreme variant of sleep apnea characterized by severe obesity, respiratory insufficiency, and bi-ventricular failure; Known obstructive sleep apnea; Unstable angina, myocardial infarction, or cardiac surgery 3 mos prior to study entry; Aortic stenosis; Routine use of theophylline; Kyphoscoliosis (spinal curvature) to the extent that chest and abdominal bands used in sleep recordings could not be kept in place; Receiving antidepressant therapy; Cardiac transplant recipient; Psychiatric diagnoses of manic depression, dementia, or depression; Inability to walk without assistance; Inability to speak/read English; Known atrial fibrillation; Current use of nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or oxygen therapy; and Already participating in an exercise program meeting or exceeding the level of activity in this study.
Sites / Locations
- University of Washington