Checkup

Congestive Heart Failure Patients
Sought for Exercise Study

Mayo Clinic physicians are participating in a research study to determine if patients with congestive heart failure can live longer and avoid hospitalization if put on a tailored exercise program.

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will enroll 3,000 patients from 60 health care sites in the US, Canada and France to investigate the role of exercise as a treatment for heart failure. Lifestyle changes, weight control and proper exercise already have been shown beneficial in several small studies. This study will compare one group assigned to a structured exercise program to another group assigned to a usual standard of care program. From that comparison, researchers hope to determine if exercise reduces the amount and duration of hospitalization and mortality from the disease.

Patients must be over 18 years old and have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Those eligible will receive study-related medical care at no charge. This will include exercise testing, follow-up calls to determine health status and evaluations at Mayo Clinic every three months during the first two years of the study, then yearly thereafter. Participants randomly selected to participate in the exercise-training group will also receive the following:

• Information about exercise training
• Supervised exercise training sessions in the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Department at St. Luke's Hospital, tailored to each patient's medical condition and physical ability
• Exercise with supervision, approximately one hour a day, three days a week for three months (progressing to a home exercise program)
• A treadmill or stationary bicycle for home use
• A heart monitor to track the effects of the exercise program

For more information, contact Pamela Oldano in the Clinical Studies Unit at (904) 953-7431.