Chinese Health Care · Mar 2026
Effect of Exercise Rehabilitation Therapy on Cardiopulmonary Function, Cardiac Pumping Function, NT-proBNP, and Quality of Life in Elderly Patients with Chronic Heart Failure
By QI L, WANG Z, MA H
ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of exercise rehabilitation therapy on cardiopulmonary function, cardiac pumping function, pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and quality of life in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS: A total of 92 patients with CHF admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University from March 2023 to January 2024 were selected as study participants and assigned to a rehabilitation group and a control group using a random number table, with 46 patients in each group. The control group received conventional pharmacological intervention, and the rehabilitation group received additional exercise rehabilitation therapy on the basis of the treatment provided to the control group. After 3 months of intervention, anaerobic threshold (AT), maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), oxygen pulse (O2pulse), NT-proBNP, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) scores were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in AT, VO2max, or O2pulse between the two groups (P>0.05); after the intervention, AT, VO2max, and O2pulse in the rehabilitation group were all higher than before the intervention and significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), whereas there were no statistically significant differences in these measures before and after the intervention in the control group (P>0.05). Before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in LVEF, LVESV, or LVEDV between the two groups (P>0.05); after the intervention, LVEF in the rehabilitation group was higher than before the intervention, and LVESV and LVEDV were both lower than before the intervention; LVEF in the rehabilitation group was higher than that in the control group, and LVESV and LVEDV were both lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), whereas there were no statistically significant differences in these measures before and after the intervention in the control group (P>0.05). Before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in NT-proBNP levels or MLHFQ scores between the two groups (P>0.05); after the intervention, NT-proBNP levels and MLHFQ scores in the rehabilitation group were both lower than before the intervention and lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), whereas there were no statistically significant differences in these measures before and after the intervention in the control group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise rehabilitation therapy can effectively improve cardiopulmonary function measures, cardiac pumping function measures, and NT-proBNP levels in elderly patients with CHF and improve patients' quality of life.