A Breakthrough in Heart Failure Rehabilitation: Free Exercise Therapy Improves Cardiac Function
Typical Case: There is a very effective treatment for heart failure, and importantly, it's free: Mr. Liang, a 55-year-old male, suffered an acute myocardial infarction while traveling in the United States in March 2016. He was rushed to a local hospital for coronary artery bypass surgery. Although the treatment was timely and his life was saved, due to the large area of myocardial necrosis, his cardiac function was severely impaired, and he developed severe heart failure symptoms. Even slight exertion caused chest tightness and shortness of breath, and he frequently woke up gasping for air during the night. After his condition stabilized somewhat, he returned to China to continue treatment to improve his cardiac function. Despite using many medications to control heart failure, the effects were limited. In May 2022, a cardiac ultrasound at a top-tier hospital showed an ejection fraction of 28%. The patient was extremely depressed, believing his life was now bleak.
Later, the patient consulted Dr. Zhou. After a comprehensive examination, Dr. Zhou felt that improving the patient's current condition would be difficult, but he still developed a detailed treatment plan. Encouragingly, after seven months of treatment, a follow-up echocardiogram showed that the patient's ejection fraction had reached 58%, and the symptoms of chest tightness and shortness of breath had significantly improved.
What effectively improved the patient's heart function? The answer is: appropriate exercise.
After the patient's initial consultation, Dr. Zhou performed a cardiopulmonary exercise test to assess the patient's maximum safe exercise capacity. Based on the measured indicators, aerobic exercise was added to the patient's existing medication treatment. After seven months of medication and rehabilitation exercise, the patient's heart function finally improved significantly, and they now experience no discomfort in daily life.
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