Effect of Intradialytic Exercise on Physical Performance and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Pilot and Feasibility Study

Introduction:Although intradialytic exercise is considered a form of "nonpharmacological medicine" for patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), this practice has not been widely implemented in most dialysis centers because of clinical limitations. We, therefore, aimed to design an intradialytic exercise training program to improve the implementation of this practice and determine its impact on physical performance and cardiovascular risk factors in patients receiving MHD.Methods:A total of 132 MHD patients at 4 outpatient dialysis units were enrolled and assigned randomly into exercise (n= 67) and control groups (n= 65). During a 2-year period, patients in the exercise group participated in 20-min exercise training sessions within dialysis sessions on 3 days per week. All patients underwent assessments of physical function (6-min walk test) and cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure [BP], total cholesterol [TC], low-density lipoprotein [LDL], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], albumin [Alb], hemoglobin [Hb], and erythropoietin [EPO] dose) at the baseline and annually thereafter.Results:Of the participants, 50.8% had completed the study after 2 years. No statistically significant intragroup or intergroup differences were observed in the measures of 6MD, BP, TC, hsCRP, Alb, Hb, and EPO dose.Conclusion:The results suggest that although this low-intensity, nonprogressive intradialytic exercise program may be practical, it was not sufficient to improve physiological function and reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients receiving MHD.