Obstructive sleep apnea reduces functional capacity and impairs cardiac autonomic modulation during submaximal exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A follow-up study.

Background: Functional capacity and heart rate variability (HRV) are important prognostic markers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). However, the impact of the overlap of these diseases and the one-year clinical follow-up has not yet been evaluated.

Objectives: To assess whether the presence of OSA can impair functional performance and cardiac autonomic control during exercise in patients with COPD; and to verify whether the overlap of these diseases could lead to worse clinical outcomes during the one-year follow-up.

Association Between the Predictors of Functional Capacity and Heart Rate Off-Kinetics in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: The heart rate (HR) kinetics as well as other predictors of functional capacity such as the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Assessment Test (CAT), the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) and the handgrip strength (HGS) represent important tools in assessing the impact of COPD on exercise performance and health status of individuals with COPD.

Purpose: To verify the relationship between functional capacity, measured using the six-minute walking test (6MWT), with the HR off-kinetics, HGS and the DASI and CAT scores.

Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 29 subjects with COPD underwent body composition, pulmonary function and cardiac function tests.