Association Between the Predictors of Functional Capacity and Heart Rate Off-Kinetics in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Patrícia Faria Camargo,1 Luciana Ditomaso-Luporini,1 Luiz Carlos Soares de Carvalho Jr,2 Cássia da Luz Goulart,1 Rayane Sebold,1,3 Polliana Batista dos Santos,1 Meliza Goi Roscani,4 Audrey Borghi–Silva1 1Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Physiotherapy Department, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2Center for Science and Technology in Energy and Sustainability of Federal University of Reconcavo da Bahia, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil; 3Course of Physiotherapy, Central Paulista University Center, Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 4Medicine Department, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, BrazilCorrespondence: Audrey Borghi–Silva Email [email protected]: The heart rate (HR) kinetics as well as other predictors of functional capacity such as the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Assessment Test (CAT), the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) and the handgrip strength (HGS) represent important tools in assessing the impact of COPD on exercise performance and health status of individuals with COPD.Purpose: To verify the relationship between functional capacity, measured using the six-minute walking test (6MWT), with the HR off-kinetics, HGS and the DASI and CAT scores.Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 29 subjects with COPD underwent body composition, pulmonary function and cardiac function tests. Subsequently, the DASI and CAT questionnaires and HGS test were performed. The beat-to-beat R-R intervals (IRR) were collected in rest, during the test and in recovery after the 6MWT. The HR off-kinetics was obtained during a 360-second period in post-exercise recovery through the HR mono-exponential decay.Results: Moderate correlations were observed between: 1) walked distance (WD) in the 6MWT and the CAT and DASI scores (r= − 0.58, p=0.001 and r= 0.58, p=0.001, respectively); 2) WD and HGS (r=0.37, p=0.05); 3) and WD and HR off-kinetics (τ; r= − 0.54, p=0.002 and MRT; r= − 0.55, p=0.002, respectively).Conclusion: The 6MWT performance is a direct measurement to evaluate functional capacity. Additionally, it is related to other direct and indirect markers for functional evaluation in patients with COPD. These results suggest the application of these tools in clinical practice, based on the accessibility, non-invasive character and easy applicability of these methods.Keywords: COPD, questionnaires, exercise, kinetics

Keywords

• copd
• questionnaires
• exercise
• kinetics.