Study population
acute systemic illness, aortic valve/mitral regurgitation, Chronic Heart Failure, acute heart failure, peripartum cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrest, mental disorders, aortic valve/mitral stenosis
ATRIOVENTRICULAR BLOCK, UNCONTROLLED HYPERTENSION, CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS, ACUTE MYOCARDITIS, HEMODYNAMIC INSTABILITY, HYPERTROPHIC OBSTRUCTIVE CARDIOMYOPATHY, CHRONIC DISEASES, CARDIAC ARREST, PERIPARTUM CARDIOMYOPATHY, HYPERTHYROID HEART DISEASE, PERICARDITIS, INTRACARDIAC THROMBUS, ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME, ACUTE HEART FAILURE
This was a cross-sectional study as well as a part of the Baduanjin-Eight-Silken-Movement with Self-efficacy Building for Patients with Chronic Heart Failure (BESMILE-HF) trial (NCT03180320, ClinicalTrials.gov, registration date: 08/06/2017) [The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients with contraindications for exercise testing, namely, early phase after acute coronary syndrome (up to 6 weeks), life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, acute heart failure (during the initial period of hemodynamic instability), uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 200 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > 110 mmHg), advanced atrioventricular block, acute myocarditis and pericarditis, moderate to severe aortic valve/mitral stenosis, severe aortic valve/mitral regurgitation, severe hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, acute systemic illness, or intracardiac thrombus; (2) patients with serious acute or chronic diseases affecting major organs or with mental disorders; (3) patients with a history of cardiac surgery, cardiac resynchronization therapy, intracardiac defibrillation, or implantation of a combined device within the previous 3 months; (4) patients with a history of cardiac arrest within 1 year; (5) patients with a history of peripartum cardiomyopathy, hyperthyroid heart disease, or primary pulmonary hypertension; and (6) patients unable to perform a recumbent bicycle stress test (Fig. Flow chart of this studyEligible participants underwent clinical evaluation (including history of cardiac risk factors and medications), height and weight measurements, blood testing, and electrocardiography. They then underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and transthoracic echocardiography assessment at rest on the same day (Fig. Illustration of speckle-tracking echocardiography examination (