Twelve weeks of water-based circuit training exercise improves fitness, body fat and leg strength in people with stable coronary heart disease: a randomised trial

The effects of water-based circuit exercise training on vascular function in people with coronary heart disease

Impaired endothelial function in people with coronary heart disease (CHD) is associated with increased mortality. Water immersion can increase peripheral artery shear stress which may provide an additional stimulus to the endothelium during exercise. This study compared the effects of water-based circuit exercise training (WEX) and gym-based circuit exercise training (GEX) on vascular function in people with stable CHD. Participants were randomized to 12 wk of WEX (n = 20), GEX (n = 20), or a control group (usual activities; n = 12). Endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and glyceryl trinitrate-mediated dilation (GTN) of the brachial artery were assessed pre- and postintervention. FMD increased following WEX [4.0% (3.0%-5.1%) to 5.3% (4.1%-6.5%); P = 0.016], but was unchanged following GEX [4.9% (3.8%-5.9%) to 5.0% (3.8%-6.1%); P = 0.822]. There were no between-group differences in the change in FMD and no significant changes in GTN-mediated dilation percentage. Triglycerides decreased following GEX [1.2 mmol·L-1 (1.0-1.4 mmol·L-1) to 1.0 mmol·L-1 (0.8-1.3 mmol·L-1); P = 0.022], but there were no further differences in lipid profiles. WEX improved endothelial function of the brachial artery in people with stable CHD, suggesting that WEX is an effective alternative to gym-based exercise in people living with CHD, which may specifically address vascular health.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study found that 12 wk of water-based circuit exercise training was well tolerated and improved vascular endothelial function in people with stable coronary heart disease. However, there was no effect on endothelium-independent function. Water-based exercise appears to be an effective alternative to gym-based exercise for people with coronary heart disease, which has specific benefits to vascular health and function.

Research trends and hotspots of exercise therapy in Panvascular disease: A bibliometric analysis

Panvascular diseases are a group of vascular system diseases, mainly including the heart, brain, neck, and other parts of the vascular lesions. As a non-pharmacological intervention, exercise therapy could prevent and treat Panvascular diseases. However, few bibliometric analyses of exercise therapy in Panvascular disease exist. This study aimed to analyze the trends and hotspots over the past decade and provide insights into the latest state of the art in global research, thereby contributing to further research in the field. We systematically searched the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) for articles on exercise therapy and Panvascular disease. The acquired information from the reports was analyzed using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software to assess and forecast this field hottest areas and trends. The final analysis included 294 articles by our specified inclusion criteria. The number of publications has gradually increased over the past decade. Stroke was one of the most studied Panvascular diseases. China and the University of Sao Paulo were the country es and institutions that contributed the most to the field. Mary M. McDermott was the most prolific researcher, and the Journal of Vascular Surgery published the most articles. The 6-minute walk test, skeletal muscle, oxidative stress, and supervised exercise therapy were hot topics from 2019 to 2023. In conclusion, exploring exercise therapy programs and exercise mechanisms for Panvascular diseases has been ongoing. This study revealed the current status and trends of research in the field and identified hot topics. It was helpful for scholars to understand exercise therapy critical role in treating and preventing Panvascular diseases and provided a reference for clinical decision-making and further research.

Water-Based Exercises on Peak Oxygen Consumption, Exercise Time, and Muscle Strength in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Background

There is a growing use of water-based exercises in cardiac rehabilitation programs. However, there is little data concerning the effects of water-based exercise on the exercise capacity of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

Objective

To perform a systematic review to investigate the effects of water-based exercise on peak oxygen consumption, exercise time, and muscle strength in patients with CAD.

Methods

Five databases were searched to find randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effects of water-based exercise for coronary artery disease patients. Mean differences (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 test.

Results

Eight studies were included. Water-based exercise resulted in an improvement in peak VO2 of 3.4 mL/kg/min (95% CI, 2.3 to 4.5; I2 = 0%; 5 studies, N = 167), exercise time of 0.6 (95% CI, 0.1 to 1.1; I2 = 0%; 3 studies, N = 69), and total body strength of 32.2 kg (95% CI, 23.9 to 40.7; I2 = 3%; 3 studies, N = 69) when compared to no exercising controls. Water-based exercise resulted in an improvement in peak VO2 of 3.1 mL/kg/min (95% CI, 1.4 to 4.7; I2 = 13%; 2 studies, N = 74), when compared to the plus land exercise group. No significant difference in peak VO2 was found for participants in the water-based exercise plus land exercise group compared with the land exercise group.

Conclusions

Water-based exercise may improve exercise capacity and should be considered as an alternative method in the rehabilitation of patients with CAD.

The effects of water-based exercise on body composition: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS

This study aimed to investigate the effects of water-based exercise (WBE) on body composition.

METHODS

Trials published up to October 28, 2022 were searched using the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus, and Ovid databases. Randomized controlled trials of healthy adults published in English, comparing WBE and control groups, were included. Other studies with different research designs and participants with medical diagnoses were excluded. The main outcome measures were body weight (BW), body fat mass (BFM), body fat percentage (BFP), lean mass (LM), and skeletal muscle mass (SMM).

RESULTS

Overall, 17,458 potential studies were identified. After a closer inspection, 79 full-length articles were considered for further screening. Finally, 20 studies, involving 565 participants, were included in the meta-analysis. The WBE was beneficial in reducing BW, BFM, and BFP and increasing LM and SMM. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on different exercise intensities and times per week. Moderate- or moderate-vigorous-intensity exercise helped improve body composition, while lower-intensity WBE or aquatic high-intensity interval training (HIIT) seemed less helpful. Training for <120 min/week was insufficient to improve body composition. Training for >120 min/week was associated with improvements in body composition.

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate- or moderate-vigorous-intensity WBE helps improve body composition. Adults are encouraged to exercise for >120 min/week.

Comparative Study of Muscle Hardness during Water-Walking and Land-Walking Using Ultrasound Real-Time Tissue Elastography in Healthy Young People

Compared with land-walking, water-walking is considered to be beneficial as a whole-body exercise because of the characteristics of water (buoyancy, viscosity, hydrostatic pressure, and water temperature). However, there are few reports on the effects of exercise in water on muscles, and there is no standard qualitative assessment method for muscle flexibility. Therefore, we used ultrasound real-time tissue elastography (RTE) to compare muscle hardness after water-walking and land-walking. Participants were 15 healthy young adult males (24.8 ± 2.3 years). The method consisted of land-walking and water-walking for 20 min on separate days. The strain ratio of the rectus femoris (RF) and medial head of gastrocnemius (MHGM) muscles were measured before and immediately after walking using RTE to evaluate muscle hardness. In water-walking, the strain ratio significantly decreased immediately after water-walking, with p < 0.01 for RF and p < 0.05 for MHGM, indicating a significant decrease in muscle hardness after water-walking. On the other hand, land-walking did not produce significant differences in RF and MHGM. Muscle hardness after aerobic exercise, as assessed by RTE, was not changed by land walking but was significantly decreased by water walking. The decrease in muscle hardness induced by water-walking was thought to be caused by the edema reduction effect produced by buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure.

Effect of Resistance Training on Body Composition, Hemodynamic Parameters and Exercise Tolerance among Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Effectiveness and safety of Resistance Training in treating various Cerebrovascular Disease diagnoses have drawn attention in recent years. Patients suffering with coronary artery disease should be offered individually tailored Resistance Training in their exercise regimen. Resistance Training was developed to help individuals with their functional status, mobility, physical performance, and muscle strength.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this review was to collect, summarize and present information on the state of science focusing on usefulness, viability, safety and efficacy of Resistance Training in treating coronary artery disease and enhancing the aerobic capacity and improving overall health-related quality of life.

METHODS

The review is prepared in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Searches were conducted in Cochrane Library, PubMed/MEDLINE, PEDro and Scopus database. PEDro scale was used for methodological quality assessment of included studies. Two independent reviewers determined the inclusion criteria of studies by classifying interventions based on core components, outcome measures, diagnostic population and rated the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations using GRADE criteria.

RESULTS

Total 13 studies with 1025 patients were included for the detailed analysis. Findings emphasize the importance of assessing effectiveness and safety of Resistance Training in individuals with coronary artery disease. Patient specific designed exercise programs as Resistance Training targets at enhancing patients' exercise tolerance, improves hemodynamic response and muscular strength with reduction in body fat composition.

CONCLUSION

Resistance Training is an effective exercise that should be incorporated to counteract the loss of muscle strength, muscle mass, and physiological vulnerability, as well as to combat the associated debilitating effects on physical functioning, mobility and overall independence and Quality of Life during rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery disease.

Publication activity in water treatments: Web of Science-based bibliometric analysis of the last two decades

We evaluated the quantity and quality of scientific publications linked with water treatments using the Web of Science (WoS) database. The WoS was searching by using the following terms "hydrotherapy," "balneotherapy," "spa therapy," "spa treatment," "creno-balneotherapy," "water treatments," and "aqua therapy," on February 10th, 2022. The recorded data were the total number of articles, year of articles, country of articles, journal, document type, index data, and citation data. Also, the studies performed with natural source mineral water were marked to make a further subgroup analysis through quality and quantity. We obtained 816 articles; 667 (81.74%) were original research articles, and 149 (18.26%) were review articles. A statistically significant and increasing trend was shown in the publication about water treatments (p < 0.01). About three-quarters of the trials were sourced from high-income countries. Italy (n = 98; 12.01%); Turkey (n = 75; 9.19%); Australia (n = 65; 7.97%); Brazil (n = 46; 5.64%); and France (n = 38; 4.66%) were the most productive countries. Calculating the number of articles per million population, Hungary (3.38), Australia (2.53), and Italy (1.64) ranked in the top three. According to 100 billion dollars GDP, the top three countries were Brazil (24.41), Hungary (21.15), and Turkey (10.41). In the average citation calculation, the Netherlands (60.84), Israel (29.86), and Australia (29.06) were in the top three. The International Journal of Biometeorology was the leading journal for publication trials about water treatments. In the subgroup analysis, we found the total number of studies performed with natural source mineral water and non-specified source water trials as 430 and 386, respectively. We also presented that the natural source and non-specified water trials had a statistically significant and increasing trend between 2000 and 2021 (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). The trials performed with natural source water mainly were sourced from Italy (n = 79; 18.37%), Turkey (n = 61; 14.19%), France (n = 38; 8.84%), Poland (n = 30; 6.98%), and Hungary (n = 29; 6.74%), the trials performed with non-specified water were sourced from Australia (n = 61; 15.80%), Brazil (n = 46; 11.92%), USA (n = 27; 6.99%), Italy (n = 19; 4.92%), and England (n = 18; 4.66%). The top journal of the natural source water trials was the International Journal of Biometeorology (n = 65; 15.12%), and for the non-specified water trials, it was the International Journal of Sports Physiology (n = 12; 3.11%).Our study presented an increasing trend in trial publications regarding water treatments between 2000 and 2021. Most of the trials were from high and upper-middle-income countries. We suggest that by demonstrating global productivity worldwide, our results can create more scientific attention on this topic and may promote the quantity and quality of the trials.