The Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Diastolic Heart Failure

The newest diagnosis approved for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was systolic heart failure with ejection fractions less than or equal to 35% in 2013. CMS did not approve diastolic heart failure as a diagnosis for CR as there has not been ample research done linking a possible benefit between the two. To date, limited research has been done regarding a CR’s resources (health education, exercise training, risk factor modification, meeting with dietitian) and its effects on diastolic heart failure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if CR can improve quality of life, and if cardiac remodeling can take place in diastolic heart failure when evaluating E/e' ratio through pre- and post- echocardiograms three months apart. A total of 14 participants took part in this study, with seven being assigned to each group. A two-way mixed ANOVA was used to identify any significant differences in quality of life and E/e' ratios when comparing pre and post scores between the two groups. Results found that there was no significant difference in E/e' ratio between the two groups following the intervention. Quality of life was found to be significantly improved in the CR group compared to the control group following the CR intervention. Although E/e' ratio did not significantly improve between the groups, every individual who lost weight over the three months showed improvement in E/e' ratio, suggesting an area to be further investigated in the future.