Publications by authors named "Ahmad Sabbahi"

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic saw physical therapist (PT) education programs in 2020 add virtual options to prepare students for hands-on clinical skills. The purpose of this research was to investigate student confidence, preparation, and clinical performance based on their choice of virtual or in-person laboratory immersion. Secondary analysis compared 2020 cohort outcomes with the previous cohort in 2019 (prepandemic).

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Objective: This study investigates the influence of aerobic exercise training on inhibitory control of executive functions in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Design: Single-blind randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinic.

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To describe the relationship between mortality and measures of low intensity physical activity (LIPA) as well as sedentary behavior (SB), and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Study selection was performed through multiple database searches from January 1, 2000 until May 1, 2023. Seven LIPA studies, 9 SB studies, and 8 studies CRF studies were selected for primary analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are essential and recommended by major cardiovascular organizations, highlighting exercise training as a key component.
  • The main focus of exercise in CR is on aerobic training, which significantly improves cardiorespiratory fitness, with moderate-intensity continuous training and resistance training being widely used.
  • The review emphasizes personalized exercise prescriptions for better outcomes and explores the advantages of high-intensity interval training for various clinical groups in CR.
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There is a reciprocal relationship between common health conditions encountered in physical therapist practice, disability, and healthy living factors, such as physical inactivity, blood pressure, sleep quality, diet, and obesity. This relationship is apparent across all practice settings. Physical therapists are well positioned in the health care system to mitigate chronic disease by routinely screening and addressing healthy living factors to improve overall health and lower the risk for chronic disease (healthy living medicine).

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Purpose Of Review: In the United States (US), 46% of adults have hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mmHg). Approximately, 16% of patients with hypertension have apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH) and the incidence of true resistant hypertension (RHT) is thought to be much lower (~ 2%). These patients with RHT are at a higher risk for adverse events and worse clinical outcomes.

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Objectives: The risks associated with achieving a high peak systolic blood pressure (SBP) during clinical exercise testing remain controversial, although this issue has not been evaluated in relation to predicted SBP standards. This cohort study aimed to evaluate the long-term risk of all-cause mortality in males in relation to reference values of peak SBP and the increase in SBP during exercise from the Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise: A National Database (FRIEND).

Methods: We followed 7164 males (mean age: 58.

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Black Americans have an earlier onset, higher average blood pressure, and higher rates of hypertension-related mortality and morbidity, compared to whites. The racial difference may be related to microvasculature, the major regulatory site of blood pressure. The goal of this study was to compare the response of resistance vessels to high intraluminal pressure between black and white participants.

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We continue to increase our cognizance and recognition of the importance of healthy living (HL) behaviors and HL medicine (HLM) to prevent and treat chronic disease. The continually unfolding events precipitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have further highlighted the importance of HL behaviors, as indicated by the characteristics of those who have been hospitalized and died from this viral infection. There has already been recognition that leading a healthy lifestyle, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, may have a substantial protective effect in those who become infected with the virus.

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Frailty is a highly prevalent multisystem syndrome in older adults with heart failure (HF) and is associated with poor clinical prognosis and increased complexity of care. While frailty is neither disease nor age specific, it is a clinical manifestation of aging-related processes that reflects a reduced physiological ability to tolerate and recover from stress associated with aging, disease, or therapy. Within this context, physical frailty, which is distinctly oriented to physical functional domains (e.

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It has been established that blacks have higher overall incidence and prevalence of hypertension compared to their white counterparts. However, the maximum blood pressure (BP) response of blacks to exercise has not been characterized. A total of 5996 apparently healthy men from the Fitness Registry and Importance of Exercise: A National Database (FRIEND) who underwent maximum cardiopulmonary exercise tests on a cycle ergometer were included in this analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The rising prevalence of obesity, driven by urbanization and lifestyle changes, impacts cardiovascular health by promoting inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.
  • This review examines the link between obesity and endothelial dysfunction, emphasizing the effects of bariatric and metabolic surgery on improving endothelial function.
  • The researchers stress the importance of understanding the mechanisms behind endothelial health in order to identify new treatment avenues for cardiovascular diseases.
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Hypertension (HTN) is among the leading global preventable risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. Early detection and effective management of HTN have demonstrated significant reductions in mortality, morbidity rate, and health care costs. Furthermore, screening for HTN by nonphysician health care providers improves detection rates and medical management.

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: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a broad pathophysiological disorder primarily characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to multiple possible etiologies. Patients typically present with multiple complaints that worsen as disease severity increases. Although initially discouraged due to safety concerns, exercise interventions for patients with PH have gained wide interest and multiple investigations have established the effective role of exercise training in improving the clinical profile, exercise tolerance, and overall quality of life.

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Hypertensive individuals are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Adopting healthy lifestyles, such as being active on ≥4 days per week, weight-loss in the presence of obesity, consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and sodium below the recommended threshold, avoiding high alcohol consumption and refraining from smoking have been effective lifestyle therapies to prevent or control stage 1 hypertension (HTN). Among the 1 in 3 Americans who have HTN (systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mmHg), 16% are diagnosed with resistant HTN (RHT).

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: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has become a well-established treatment option for patients with end stage heart failure (HF) who are refractory to medical therapy. While LVADs implantation does effectively improve hemodynamic performance many patients still possess peripheral pathological adaptations often present in end-stage HF. Therefore, increased attention has been placed on investigating the effects of exercise training for patients with LVADs to improve clinical outcomes.

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Oxidative stress is implicated in the etiology of many ethanol-induced pathologies. Oxidative stress has been shown to contribute to the development of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension. This review details mechanisms of vascular function, the role of oxidative stress in vascular biology and how ethanol consumption may alter endothelial and smooth muscle cell function as well as microvascular function.

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Obesity affects 600 million people globally and over one third of the American population. Along with associated comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer; the direct and indirect costs of managing obesity are 21% of the total medical costs. These factors shed light on why developing effective and pragmatic strategies to reduce body weight in obese individuals is a major public health concern.

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Dietary preworkout supplements are popular among recreational exercisers and athletes. However, the effects of these supplements on the vasculature, both at rest and during exercise, are not well studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 1 week of supplementation with a multi-ingredient dietary preworkout supplement on measures of vascular function at rest and immediately following acute resistance exercise in young, recreationally active adults.

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The objective of this study is to expand on previous efforts in establishing normative standards of exercising blood pressure (BP) at maximal physical exertion derived from treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing in the United States. Four experienced laboratories in the United States with established quality control procedures contributed data from September 1, 1986, to February 1, 2015. A total of 2917 maximal (peak respiratory exchange ratio ≥1.

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Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of a current physical therapy and weight loss program model on exercise performance, physical function, and cardiometabolic risk factors in obese patients.

Design: Retrospective pre-post design.

Subjects: A total of 192 patients who previously underwent testing of anthropometric measurements, cardiovascular biomarkers, and lower extremity function scale (LEFS) were included.

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Hypertension (HTN) has recently been determined to be the number one overall risk factor of disease. With direct and indirect costs amounting to $46.4 billion in 2011 and projections of six-fold increases by 2030, the importance of low-cost nonpharmacological interventions can be appreciated.

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