Effect of 12 weeks aquatic aerobic Exercises on myocardial structure and function in type 2 diabetic women with heart failure

Diabetes mellitus (DM), an increasing health problem worldwide, is associated with severe cardiovascular complications. Then, the aim of this study was to investigate effect of 12 weeks of aquatic aerobic exercises on myocardial structure and function in diabetic female patients with heart failure.

In this semi experimental research, 36 diabetic women with heart failure in age range of 45 to 65 years old referring to shahid Madani medical center in Tabriz voluntarily participated in this study and assigned to one of two groups: control(n=16) and experimental (n=16) group. Aquatic exercises were carried out three sessions a week for 12 weeks, each session lasting 60 minutes with intensity of 5-8 in RPE Borg classification. Patients in control group continued their normal daily living activities. Blood sampling was gathered 48 h before and after training protocol to measure diabetic indexes such as Fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum Insulin, Insulin resistance, HbA1c and diastolic function such as E Velocity (EV), A Velocity (AV), Deceleration Time (DT), E to A ratio (EA), systolic function consisted on Ejection Fraction (EF), Left Ventricular Mass (LVM), Rest Heart Rate (RHR), Systolic pressure (SP) and Diastolic pressure (DP). The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS-18, T independent test at the significant level α<0.05.

The results showed that after intervention, LVM (p=0/000), EV (p=0/034), EF (p=0/002) levels were significantly increased and FBS (p=0/006), HbA1c (p=0/012), AV (p=0/002), SP (p=0/042) and RHR (p=0/035) were decreased in Aquatic exercise group. But in DT, EA and DP Levels these differences weren’t significant between two groups (p>0/05).

The results showed that aquatic exercises, resistance and aerobic exercises, as a safe and effective exercise Method, could be helpful in improving myocardial structure and function in type 2diabetic females with heart failures.