gms | German Medical Science

Objective: Heart transplantation is state of the art treatment in severe heart failure. In the scientific medical literature, there is clear evidence that regular physical activity such as aerobic exercise may increase survival and quality of life in heart transplant recipients. Furthermore, there is a clear increase in long-time survival of heart transplant recipients due to optimized treatment strategies. Therefore, aim of the present pilot-study was to describe self-reported physical activity and performance (fitness) in Austrian long-term heart transplant recipients.

Material/Methods: Setting: After approval of the ethics committee (Medical University of Vienna), the members of the Austrian Association of Heart- and Lung- transplanted people (Verband der Herz- und Lungen-Transplantierten) have been invited to participate the present cross-sectional pilot study, with the aim to get information about their self-reported physical activity and physical performance (reported walking distance and ability to climb stairs).

Study population: After written informed consent, 25 members [66±7 years; m:f=20:5, mean time since transplantation was 10±7 years with a range from 2 to 26 years; BMI=27±5] of this specific Association have been included, yet.

Assessment: By using the method of a structured telephone interview, these patients were asked different conditions (demographic data, socioeconomic status, and clinical data). Furthermore, they were asked if they have participated the rehabilitation program for heart transplant recipients of the outpatient rehabilitation centre from Department of PM&R of the Medical University of Vienna/General Hospital of Vienna.

Parts of this ongoing study have been published as master thesis at the Medical University of Vienna.

Results: 84% (n=21) of the included patients (n=25) stated to perform regular (7±5 hours/week) physical activity. 44% (n=11) of the included patients answered to have participated in the described rehabilitation program at the outpatient rehabilitation clinic. For physically active patients who were not able to participate in this program, the most important factor of non-participation was the amount of the distance between their domicile and the outpatient rehabilitation clinic. Patients, who reported to have performed regular physical activity such as aerobic exercise at their home and/or at the outpatient rehabilitation clinic, reported significant better values for physical performance (p=0.001 walking distance, p=0.008 stair climbing) than patients who reported to be inactive.

Conclusion: As expected, preliminary data of the present observation in Austrian long-term heart transplant recipients indicate that self-reported physical activity seems to go hand in hand with self-reported physical performance (reported walking distance and reported ability to climb stairs), especially depending on the quality and amount of regular physical activity, and on health status after transplantation (which can influence participation in rehabilitation programs). Inclusion of further participants in this ongoing observation will increase the power of these preliminary results.