Demetrios Georgiou

BACKGROUND: It is still a matter of debate whether exercise training (ET) is a beneficial treatment in chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS AND RESULTS: To determine whether long-term moderate ET improves functional capacity and quality of life in patients with CHF and whether these effects translate into a favorable outcome, 110 patients with stable CHF were initially recruited, and 99 (59+/-14 years of age; 88 men and 11 women) were randomized into 2 groups. One group (group T, n=50) underwent ET at 60% of peak &f1;O2, initially 3 times a week for 8 weeks, then twice a week for 1 year. Another group (group NT, n=49) did not exercise. At baseline and at months 2 and 14, all patients underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test, while 74 patients (37 in group T and 37 in group NT) with ischemic heart disease underwent myocardial scintigraphy. Quality of life was assessed by questionnaire. Ninety-four patients completed the protocol (48 in group T and 46 in group NT). Changes were observed only in patients in group T. Both peak &f1;O2 and thallium activity score improved at 2 months (18% and 24%, respectively; P<0. 001 for both) and did not change further after 1 year. Quality of life also improved and paralleled peak VO2. Exercise training was associated both with lower mortality (n=9 versus n=20 for those with training versus those without; relative risk (RR)=0.37; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.84; P=0.01) and hospital readmission for heart failure (5 versus 14; RR=0.29; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.88; P=0.02). Independent predictors of events were ventilatory threshold at baseline (beta-coefficient=0.378) and posttraining thallium activity score (beta-coefficient -0.165). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term moderate ET determines a sustained improvement in functional capacity and quality of life in patients with CHF. This benefit seems to translate into a favorable outcome.

BACKGROUND: Ultrafast computed tomography (CT), by acquiring images of the proximal coronary arteries, detects coronary calcifications and has been demonstrated to be highly sensitive for the detection of coronary artery disease in many small studies. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between ultrafast CT scanning and coronary angiography in a large number of symptomatic patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population consisted of 710 patients from six participating centers. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to evaluate the individual contributions of age, number of calcified vessels, and the calcium score for the probability of angiographically significant disease. Of the 710 patients enrolled, 427 patients had significant angiographic disease, and coronary calcification was detected in 404, yielding a sensitivity of 95%. Of the 23 patients without calcifications, 19 (83%) had single-vessel disease at angiography. Of the 283 patients without angiographically significant disease, 124 had negative ultrafast CT coronary studies, for a specificity of 44%. An increasing number of vessels with calcification present on ultrafast CT was found to increase specificity for the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease in at least one vessel (P < .0001). As the log of the calcium score increases, the probability of multivessel obstructive disease increases (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrafast CT scanning is an noninvasive, non-exercise-dependent test with an excellent sensitivity for the detection of coronary artery disease. The presence of calcifications in multiple vessels and in younger populations correlates with higher specificities for obstructive disease, making ultrafast CT coronary scanning a very useful diagnostic test.