Differences Of Functional Capacity Between Patients With Left Heart Failure And Rightheart Failure Associated With Chronic Pulmonary Diseases

Introduction: Information focused on the functional capacity of patients with right heart failure (RHF) associated with chronic pulmonary diseases is scarce, despite differences in the pathophysiology with left heart failure (LHF). Purpose: To investigate differences of functional capacity between LHF and RHF patients, evaluated with six-minute walk test (6MWT). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, 76 LHF patients (G1, 61.30±17.79 years, 51.9% men) and 68 RHF patients (G2, 67.34±13.31 years, 58.8% women) participated. Patients performed the 6MWT. Subjective physical tiredness level (SPTL) was assessed before and after (scale 0-10). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure was recorded before (SBP1/DBP1), after (SBP2/DBP2) and at one minute of recovery (SBP3/DBP3). Student t- test and chi squared was performed using SPSS version 25. Results: There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between groups (G1 vs G2); in time used (345.10±54.33 vs 289.85±100.10 s), SPTL after the walk test (minimum 28.9% vs 19.4%; moderate to intense 21% vs 31.3%) and physiological responses: SBP1 (127.45±20 vs 140.90±25.50 mmHg), SBP2 (133.17±27.57 vs 142.51±24.98 mmHg), SBP3 (131.17±22.90 vs 138.24±23.47 mmHg), DBP1 (71.09±14.53 vs 82.62±12.77 mmHg), DBP2 (71.86±13.83 vs 83.49±16.18 mmHg), and DBP3 (72.68±13.60 vs 80.68±12.25 mmHg). Conclusions: RHF patients have greater physiological involvement, blood pressure and SPTL after the walk. However, presenting a better physiological recovery. It is important to know the particular characteristics of the patients and establish specific interdisciplinary treatments.