Aquatic Exercise Is Effective in Improving Exercise Performance in Patients with Heart Failure and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background. Peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)) and muscle function are more decreased in patients with a combination of chronic heart failure (CHF) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (2DM) compared to patients with only one of the conditions. Further, patients with 2DM have peripheral complications that hamper many types of conventional exercises. Aim. To evaluate the efficacy and applicability of eight-week aquatic exercise in patients with the combination of CHF and 2DM. Methods. Twenty patients (four women) with both CHF and 2DM (age 67.4 ± 7.1, NYHA II-III) were randomly assigned to either aquatic exercise or a control group. The patients exercised for 45 minutes 3 times/week in 33–34°C, swimming pool. Results. The training programme was well tolerated. Work rate (+11.7 ± 6.6 versus −6.4 ± 8.1 watt, P < 0.001) and VO(2peak) (+2.1 ± 0.8 versus −0.9 ± 1.4 mL·kg(−1)·min(−1), P < 0.001) and walking capacity (P = 0.01) increased significantly in the training group. Muscle function was also significantly improved and Hba1c decreased significantly (P < 0.01) during training, while fasting glucose, insulin, c-peptide, and lipids were unchanged . Training also increased vitality measured by SF-36 significantly (P = 0.05). Conclusion. Aquatic exercise could be used to improve exercise capacity and muscle function in patients with the combination of CHF and 2DM.