Six-Month Aerobic Exercise Training Ameliorates Central Sleep Apnea in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Abstract Background Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common in patients with heart failure and carries an independent risk for poor long-term prognosis. We aimed to study the effects of supervised, aerobic exercise training for 6 months on SDB in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods and Results We enrolled 18 patients having both systolic dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction 10). The exercise group comprised 10 patients who participated in our cardiac rehabilitation program for 6 months, and the remaining 8 patients served as control. AHI (median [interquartile range]) was unchanged in the control group patients at 6-month intervals (30.4 [19.9–36.3] versus 36.6 [8.6–39.4], NS). In contrast, AHI was significantly decreased in the exercise group from 24.9 [19.2–37.1] to 8.8 [5.3–10.1] ( P P P Conclusions Six-month, aerobic exercise training increased exercise capacity and improved central sleep apnea in patients with chronic heart failure from systolic dysfunction.