Pulmonary rehabilitation, a multidisciplinary and structured intervention for patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, has been shown to improve exercise tolerance, reduce dyspnea and improve health-related quality of life. Pulmonary rehabilitation appears to be cost-effective, since it reduces health care utilization. Exercise training represents the cornerstone of every pulmonary rehabilitation program. To obtain clinically relevant effects, training should closely supervised, of high intensity, lasting 30-45 min for at least 3 days/week. Patients should undertake a minimum of 20 sessions, but longer programs result in larger and more long-lasting effects. Education and self-management programs have been shown to result in a substantial reduction in hospital admissions. Nutritional intervention should be considered for patients who are underweight or those with body composition abnormalities. Patients reporting fear and anxiety may benefit from psychosocial support, and the integration of occupational therapy in a pulmonary rehabilitation program can improve independence in activity. Multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation is preferably implemented in an outpatient hospital- or community-based setting. Inpatient programs are suited for patients with limited transportation capabilities or severe deconditioning. The most convincing effects of home-based rehabilitation are in maintaining the improvements obtained in an outpatient setting.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

In this review, the importance of growth hormone (GH) for the maintenance of normal cardiac function in adult life is discussed. Physiological effects of GH and underlying mechanisms for interactions between GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and the cardiovascular system are covered as well as the cardiac dysfunction caused both by GH excess (acromegaly) and by GH deficiency in adult hypopituitary patients. In both acromegaly and adult GH deficiency, there is also increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality possibly linked to aberrations in GH status. Finally, the status of the GH/IGF-I system in relation to heart failure and the potential of GH as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of heart failure are reviewed in this article.

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GH and the cardiovascular system: an update on a topic at heart.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is characterized as a clinical disorder displaying exercise intolerance; patients typically complain of early muscular fatigue. Previously, it was thought to be simply a failure of perfusion to the exercising musculature and consequent early onset of intramuscular acidosis in CHF. However, improved hemodynamics by cardiotonic agents did not lead to an increase in exercise tolerance. Later studies have shown that intrinsic skeletal muscle abnormalities exist in patients with CHF and could induce the early anaerobic metabolism that limits exercise tolerance. We review the clinical importance of skeletal muscle abnormalities in patients with CHF. Considering the significance of peripheral muscle abnormalities and their development might help physicians and researchers better understand the mechanisms of well-established exercise training and pharmacological therapies that have been shown to improve the prognosis for CHF, and thus develop potential novel therapies.

Exercise intolerance in chronic heart failure--skeletal muscle dysfunction and potential therapies

The growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) axis regulates cardiac growth, stimulates myocardial contractility and influences the vascular system. The GH/IGF-1 axis controls intrinsic cardiac contractility by enhancing the intracellular calcium availability and regulating expression of contractile proteins; stimulates cardiac growth, by increasing protein synthesis; modifies systemic vascular resistance, by activating the nitric oxide system and regulating non-endothelial-dependent actions. The relationship between the GH/IGF-1 axis and the cardiovascular system has been extensively demonstrated in numerous experimental studies and confirmed by the cardiac derangements secondary to both GH excess and deficiency. Several years ago, a clinical non-blinded study showed, in seven patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure (CHF), a significant improvement in cardiac function and structure after three months of treatment with recombinant GH plus standard therapy for heart failure. More recent studies, including a small double-blind placebo-controlled study on GH effects on exercise tolerance and cardiopulmonary performance, have shown that GH benefits patients with CHF secondary to both ischemic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. However, conflicting results emerge from other placebo-controlled trials. These discordant findings may be explained by the degree of CHF-associated GH resistance. In conclusion, we believe that more clinical and experimental studies are necessary to exactly understand the mechanisms that determine the variable sensitivity to GH and its positive effects in the failing heart.

The GH/IGF-1 Axis and Heart Failure

Context: Experimental studies suggest that GH treatment may improve cardiovascular parameters in chronic heart failure (CHF). However, clinical trials involved small numbers of patients and did not allow a conclusion to be drawn on the effect of this treatment in humans. Objective: We systematically reviewed and analyzed all randomized controlled trials and open studies of sustained GH treatment in CHF. Study Selection: Twelve trials were identified in three databases. We conducted a combined analysis of GH effects on cardiovascular parameters using the overall effect size to evaluate significance and computing the weighted mean differences with and without treatment to assess effect size. Data Synthesis: GH treatment significantly modified morphological cardiovascular parameters [interventricular septum thickness, +0.55 (sd, 0.43) mm (P < 0.001); posterior wall thickness, +1.01 (0.44) mm (P < 0.01); left ventricle (LV) end-diastolic diameter, −2.02 (1.22) mm (P < 0.01); and LV end-systolic diameter, −5.3...

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Cardiac Effects of Growth Hormone Treatment in Chronic Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis

Administration of growth hormone to patients with advanced cardiac heart failure: effects upon left ventricular function, exercise capacity, and neurohormonal status.

Gastón Chamorro

Papers

Administration of growth hormone to patients with advanced cardiac heart failure: effects upon left ventricular function, exercise capacity, and neurohormonal status.