Function, eligibility, outcomes, and exercise capacity associated with left ventricular assist devices: exercise rehabilitation and training for patients with ventricular assist devices

Exercise-Based Rehabilitation for Heart Failure: Clinical Evidence

People with heart failure experience marked reduction in their exercise capacity which has detrimental effects on their activities of daily living, health-related quality of life, and ultimately their hospital ad-mission rate and mortality. Numerous cardiac rehabilitation studies have demonstrated functional benefits, improvement in quality of life and clinical outcomes from exercise training in patients with HFrEF. Based on evidences, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE) consistently recommend exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation(CR) as an effective and safe adjunct for patients with stable class II to III heart failure (HF) who do not have advanced arrhythmias and who do not have other limitations to exercise. This recommendation applies to patients with HFrEF as well as to patients with HFpEF besides patients with class IV HF, although the data are not as robust for patients with HFpEF. In this article, the clinical evidence on effects of exercise for HFrEF and HFpEF as well as end-stage heart failure were separately reviewed.

Ventricular Assist Devices: Preparing for Catastrophic Environmental Events

In the summer of 2004, Florida experienced 4 major hurricanes in a matter of weeks. These hurricanes left many Floridians without power and passable roads, interrupted communications, and destroyed some homes. During this time, Tampa General Hospital had 1 patient living at home with an implanted ventricular assist device. The patient had been discharged home only 2 weeks before hurricane Frances hit hard. Although the patient was able to stay at home and experienced no major problems with the device, there were several situations that taught us many lessons about caring for patients with ventricular assist devices during environmental catastrophic events.

Inpatient rehabilitation outcomes for patients receiving left ventricular assist device

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of patients participating in inpatient rehabilitation program after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation.

DESIGN

Medical records of 94 patients who received LVADs between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2010, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, were retrospectively reviewed for demographic data, and inpatient rehabilitation functional outcomes were measured by the Functional Independence Measure scale.

RESULTS

After successful implantation of LVAD, the patients were either discharged directly home from acute care (44%) or admitted to inpatient rehabilitation (56%). The patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation were older than those discharged home. They were also more medically complex and more likely to have the LVAD placed as destination therapy. At discharge, significant improvement occurred in 17 of the 18 activities evaluated by the Functional Independence Measure scale. The mean total Functional Independence Measure scale score at admission was 77.1 compared with a score of 95.2 at discharge (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately half of the patients who received LVAD therapy were admitted in the inpatient rehabilitation. After the implantation of LVAD and inpatient rehabilitation, significant functional improvements were observed. Further studies addressing the role of inpatient rehabilitation for LVAD patients are warranted.

Physical therapist management of patients with ventricular assist devices: key considerations for the acute care physical therapist

This article provides an overview of the utilization of ventricular assist devices (VADs), reviews the common features of VADs and management of VAD recipients, discusses clinical considerations in the rehabilitation process, and describes the role of the acute care physical therapist in the care of VAD recipients. With more than 5 million people in the United States with heart failure, and with a limited ability to manage the progressive and debilitating nature of heart failure, VADs are becoming more commonplace. In order to prescribe a comprehensive and effective plan of care, the physical therapist needs to understand the type and function of the VADs and the goals of the VAD program. The goals for the physical therapist are: (1) to deliver comprehensive rehabilitation services to patients on VAD support, (2) to develop an understanding of the role of functional mobility in recovery, and (3) to understand how preoperative physical function may contribute to the VAD selection process. The acute care physical therapist has an increasing role in providing a complex range of rehabilitation services, as well as serving as a well-educated resource to physical therapists across the health care spectrum, as more VAD recipients are living in the community.

The Joint Commission's Disease-Specific Care Certification for Destination Therapy Ventricular Assist Devices

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that all hospitals implanting ventricular assist devices are required to have certification from the The Joint Commission for disease-specific care destination therapy with a ventricular assist device effective March 27, 2009, in order to receive Medicare reimbursement for services rendered to patients who have devices implanted for destination therapy. On February 23, 2007, The Joint Commission released the certification requirements for ventricular assist devices implanted for destination therapy in an 8-page document so that hospitals could prepare to meet the 2009 certification deadline. The Artificial Heart Program of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center undertook a multidisciplinary project, under the guidance of the nurse coordinator, to prepare the hospital and program for a precertification survey by The Joint Commission for disease-specific destination therapy ventricular assist device certification. The Presbyterian Hospital Artificial Heart Program was awarded The Joint Commission's device-specific certification for destination therapy with ventricular assist devices in June 2008.

Principles of exercise prescription for patients with chronic heart failure

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a common and debilitating condition characterized by reduced exercise tolerance. While exercise training was once thought to be contraindicated for patients with CHF, a substantial body of data has been published over the last two decades to support the use of exercise programs for these patients. Improvements in exercise capacity, quality of life, and mortality have been demonstrated among patients with CHF who have participated in formal exercise programs. Exercise prescription is a means of assessing and interpreting clinical information and applying the principles of training to develop an appropriate regimen so that these benefits are achieved. The major principles of the exercise prescription are the mode, frequency, duration, and intensity. Importantly, safe and effective exercise prescription for patients with CHF requires more than the application of these principles; it also requires careful consideration of the individual patients' functional status, comorbid conditions, medications, contraindications, and personal goals and preferences. Recent studies have demonstrated that a wide spectrum of patients with CHF benefit from appropriately applied exercise training, including those with both systolic and diastolic dysfunction, atrial fibrillation, pacemakers, implantable cardioversion devices, and post-cardiac transplantation. Increasingly, the principles of exercise prescription are included as a component of comprehensive CHF management programs. Evidence has accumulated that CHF patients who participate in rehabilitation programs have better health outcomes in terms of reduced morbidity and mortality, as well as lower hospitalization rates and lower overall health care costs.