title: Effect of warming of exercising legs on exercise capacity in patients with impaired exercise tolerance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine whether warming of exercising legs improves exercise capacity in patients with cardiac disease and low exercise tolerance.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Exercising muscle temperature reflects both muscle metabolic rate and muscle blood flow. Increase in muscle temperature in exercising legs is impaired in patients with chronic heart failure. We hypothesized that the mechanisms responsible for impairment of temperature increase in exercising muscle might be related to those responsible for low exercise tolerance.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 17 patients with cardiac disease whose anaerobic threshold (AT) ranged from 6.6 to 14.8 ml/kg/min (mean 11.2 +/- 1.9 SD). Subjects performed symptom-limited sitting cycle ergometer exercise with or without warming of the thighs. Both thighs were warmed by use of hot packs fixed by supporters. To determine the effect of the supporters themselves on AT and peak VO2, the same ergometer exercise was performed by 7 patients with or without supporters. Peak VO2 and AT were determined by concomitant respiratory gas monitoring.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1) Warming of the thighs increased deep temperature in the thighs (1.0 approximately 2.8 degrees C). 2) AT and peak VO2 were significantly improved in the warming exercise compared with the non-warming exercise (p < 0.01, p < 0.01). 3) There was no significant difference in AT or peak VO2 between the exercise with and without supporters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study indicate that warming of exercising legs improves exercise capacity in patients with cardiac disease and low exercise tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hitachi Ltd.-Mito General Hospital, Hitachinaka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamanouchi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ajisaka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toyama
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugishita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001831:Body Temperature; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology*