Low-frequency electrical stimulation increases muscle strength and improves blood supply in patients with chronic heart failure
Petr Dobsák, Marie Nováková, Jarmila Siegelová, Bohumil Fiser, Jirí Vítovec, Makoto Nagasaka, Masahiro Kohzuki, Tomoyuki Yambe, Shin-ichi Nitta, Jean-Christophe Eicher, Jean-Eric Wolf, Kou Imachi, Petr Dobsák, Marie Nováková, Jarmila Siegelová, Bohumil Fiser, Jirí Vítovec, Makoto Nagasaka, Masahiro Kohzuki, Tomoyuki Yambe, Shin-ichi Nitta, Jean-Christophe Eicher, Jean-Eric Wolf, Kou Imachi
Abstract
Background: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) on muscle strength and blood flow in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF).
Methods and results: Patients with CHF (n=15; age 56.5 +/- 5.2 years; New York Heart Association III - IV; ejection fraction 18.7 +/- 3.3%) were examined before and after 6 weeks of LFES (10 Hz) of the quadriceps and calf muscles of both legs (1 h/day, 7 days/week). Dynamometry was performed weekly to determine maximal muscle strength (F(max); N) and isokinetic peak torque (PT(max); Nm); blood flow velocity (BFV) was measured at baseline and after 6 weeks of LFES using pulsed-wave Doppler velocimetry of the right femoral artery. Six weeks of LFES significantly increased F(max) (from 224.5 +/- 96.8 N to 340.0 +/- 99.4 N; p<0.001), and also PT(max) (from 94.5 +/- 41.5 Nm to 135.3 +/- 28.8 Nm; p<0.01). BFV in the femoral artery increased after 6 weeks from 35.7 +/- 15.4 cm/s to 48.2 +/- 18.1 cm/s (p<0.05); BFV values at rest before and after 6 weeks of LFES did not differ significantly.
Conclusions: LFES may improve muscle strength and blood supply, and could be recommended for the treatment of patients with severe CHF.
Source: PubMed