Rehabilitation: Periodic somatosensory stimulation increases arterial baroreflex sensitivity in chronic heart failure 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.