EFFECTS OF NEUROMUSCULAR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE HEART FAILURE -- RESULTS OF A SINGLE-CENTER RANDOMIZED TRIAL.

Objective: We evaluated the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) therapy on functional capacity and oxidative stress in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF). Design: We included 30 consecutive patients admitted for AHF with a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 50% who were randomized into two groups: NMES therapy added on conventional rehabilitation (CR) (n = 15, 67.2 ±13.35 years) and CR alone (n = 15, 63.26 ± 10.29 years). NMES therapy was performed at the level of the quadriceps muscle bilaterally, daily, for 60 minutes with a frequency of 10 Hz. Results: The mean duration of NMES therapy was 6.93 ± 2.54 days. Functional capacity assessed by the 6 minute walk test was significantly improved in the group with NMES therapy (p=0.036). The oxidized LDL value showed a decreasing trend compared to the admission value in the group with NMES therapy, but without statistical significance. Conclusion: This paper shows that for patients with AHF, NMES therapy used for a short term and initiated early during the hospitalization period improves exercise tolerance, suggesting the importance and possible necessity of including it as standard cardiac recovery therapy. NMES did not influence the plasmatic value of oxidized LDL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]