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World J Transplant. Sep 18, 2024; 14(3): 91637
Published online Sep 18, 2024. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v14.i3.91637
Exercise as a modality to improve heart transplantation-related functional impairments: An article review
Arnengsih Nazir
Arnengsih Nazir, Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung 40161, West Java, Indonesia
Author contributions: Nazir A contributed to all manuscript processes.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares no conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Arnengsih Nazir, MD, MM, Academic Fellow, Attending Doctor, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Lecturer, Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Padjadjaran, Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Jl. Pasteur No. 38 Bandung 40161, West Java, Indonesia. arnengsih@unpad.ac.id
Received: January 1, 2024
Revised: June 14, 2024
Accepted: July 2, 2024
Published online: September 18, 2024
Processing time: 212 Days and 0.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Heart transplantation is proven effective in increasing the survival and functional status of the recipients, but compared to normal controls, their functional status is lower. Exercise is shown to improve exercise capacity and its cessation causes the loss of its benefits. Cardiac denervation and immunosuppressive agents used in heart transplantation recipients result in cardiovascular, pulmonary, exercise capacity, psychological, and quality of life problems. Functional improvement is mainly due to musculoskeletal and cardiovascular adaptations. The greatest improvement in exercise capacity was found in recipients given supervised high-intensity training. Quality of life improvement resulted from the improvement of exercise capacity and symptoms.