The Benefits of Exercise Training on Aerobic Capacity in Patients with Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is defined as an inability of the ventricles to optimally accept blood from atria with blunted end-diastolic volume response by limiting the stroke volume and cardiac output. The HEpEF prevalence is higher in elderly and women and may be associated to hypertension, diabetes mellitus and atrial fibrillation. Severe exercise intolerance, manifested by dyspnea and fatigue during physical effort is the important chronic symptom in HFpEF patients, in which is the major determinant of their reduced quality of life. In this sense, several studies demonstrated reduced aerobic capacity in terms of lower peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) in patients with HFpEF. In addition, the lower aerobic capacity observed in HFpEF may be due to impaired both convective and diffusive O-2 transport (i.e. reduced cardiac output and arteriovenous oxygen difference, respectively). Exercise training program can help restore physiological function in order to increase aerobic capacity and improve the quality of life in HFpEF patients. Therefore, the primary purpose of this chapter was to clarify the physiological mechanisms associated with reduced aerobic capacity in HFpEF patients. Secondly, special focus was devoted to show how aerobic exercise training can improve aerobic capacity and quality of life in HFpEF patients.