Publications by authors named "Henk J van Exel"
Purpose: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) after hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has shown to reduce mortality, readmissions, and improve quality of life. CR is recommended by international guidelines but previous studies have shown low participation rates. Systematic CR referral might improve CR participation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hypoxic brain injury is described in up to 40% of survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Besides cognitive impairments, lack of circulation may also affect exercise capacity. It is not known if exercise capacity of patients with cognitive impairments differs from other OHCA survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study investigates how exercise training benefits patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and suggests that somatosensory nerve stimulation may play a role in these benefits.
- - Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial involving periodic electrical somatosensory stimulation (TENS) and compared it to traditional exercise training and usual care, measuring various health indicators like blood pressure, baroreflex sensitivity, and quality of life.
- - Results showed that the TENS group experienced improvements in health measures comparable to or better than those in the exercise training group, indicating that non-traditional exercise methods might effectively address autonomic issues in CHF patients.
Background: One of the beneficial effects of exercise training in chronic heart failure (CHF) is an improvement in baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), a prognostic index in CHF. In our hypothesis-generating study we propose that at least part of this effect is mediated by neural afferent information, and more specifically, by exercise-induced somatosensory nerve traffic.
Objective: To compare the effects of periodic electrical somatosensory stimulation on BRS in patients with CHF with the effects of exercise training and with usual care.
Exercise training increases oxygen uptake efficiency slope in chronic heart failure.
Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil
April 2008
Background And Aim: The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) is a novel measure of cardiopulmonary reserve. OUES is measured during an exercise test, but it is independent of the maximally achieved exercise intensity. It has a higher prognostic value in chronic heart failure (CHF) than other exercise test-derived variables such as(Equation is included in full-text article.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In chronic heart failure (CHF), persistent autonomic derangement and neurohumoral activation cause structural end-organ damage, decrease exercise capacity, and reduce quality of life. Beneficial effects of pharmacotherapy and of exercise training in CHF have been documented at various functional and structural levels. However, pharmacologic treatment can not yet reduce autonomic derangement and neurohumoral activation in CHF to a minimum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Guideline implementation programs for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) enhance adherence to evidence-based medicine (EBM) and improve clinical outcome. Although undertreatment of patients with AMI is well recognized in both acute and chronic phases of care, most implementation programs focus on acute and secondary prevention strategies during the index hospitalization phase only.
Hypothesis: Implementation of an all-phase integrated AMI care program maximizes EBM in daily practice and improves the care for patients with AMI.