title: Impact of prolonged walking exercise on cardiac structure and function in cardiac patients versus healthy controls.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that endurance exercise can cause an acute transient decrease in cardiac function in healthy subjects. Whether this also occurs in cardiac patients is unknown. We investigated the impact of prolonged single day and three-day walking exercise on cardiac function and cardiac biomarkers between cardiac patients and healthy controls in an observational study.
  
  
  
  We recruited 10 cardiac patients (nine males, one female, 68 ± 5 years) and 10 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects (nine males, one female, 68 ± 4 years) to perform 30 or 40 km of walking exercise per day for three consecutive days. Cardiac function was examined using echocardiography and cardiac biomarkers (cardiac troponin and B-type natriuretic peptide) with blood samples. Data were collected before walking and directly after walking on day 1 and day 3.
  
  
  
  Post-exercise early systolic tissue contraction velocity of the left ventricle (p = 0.005) and global longitudinal left ventricle strain (P = 0.026) were increased in both groups compared with baseline. Post-exercise right ventricle peak early diastolic tissue filling velocity and systolic blood pressure/left ventricle end-systolic volume ratio decreased in both groups (p = 0.043 and p = 0.028, respectively). Post-exercise cardiac troponin levels increased (p = 0.045) but did not differ across groups (p = 0.60), whereas B-type natriuretic peptide levels did not change (p = 0.43).
  
  
  
  This study suggests that stable cardiac patients are capable of performing three days of prolonged walking exercise without clinically significant acute overall deterioration in cardiac function or more pronounced increase in cardiac biomarkers compared with healthy controls.
authors: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Nathalie Mm
authors: NM
authors: Benda
authors: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Maria Te
authors: MT
authors: Hopman
authors: Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Arie Pj
authors: AP
authors: van Dijk
authors: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Oxborough
authors: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
authors: Keith P
authors: KP
authors: George
authors: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK dick.thijssen@radboudumc.nl.
authors: Dick Hj
authors: DH
authors: Thijssen
authors: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Thijs Mh
authors: TM
authors: Eijsvogels
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003971:Diastole; D004452:Echocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood; D013318:Stroke Volume; D013599:Systole; D014336:Troponin / Q000097:blood; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*; D016138:Walking
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014336:Troponin; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
keywords: Endurance exercise; cardiovascular disease; echocardiography; heart failure