ORIGINAL ARTICLE  SPORT CARDIOLOGY 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2022 October;62(10):1404-9

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.21.13106-8

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Relationship between exercise capacity and grip strength in a cohort of older cardiac outpatients

Andrea RAISI ¹, Valentina ZERBINI ¹ ✉, Jonathan MYERS ^{2, 3, 4}, Rosario LORDI ^{1, 5}, Tommaso PIVA ¹, Gianni MAZZONI ^{1, 5}, Giovanni GRAZZI ^{1, 4, 5}, Simona MANDINI ¹

¹ Center for Exercise Science and Sport, Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; ² Division of Cardiology, VA Palo Alto Health Care, Palo Alto, CA, USA; ³ Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; ⁴ Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL-PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA; ⁵ Department of Public Health, AUSL Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

BACKGROUND: Progressive ageing of the population has highlighted the importance of the relationship between physical function and frailty in patients with chronic disease. The aim of this study was to assess the association between exercise capacity and grip strength (GS) in a cohort of older patients involved in an exercise-based secondary prevention program.
METHODS: Sixty-five outpatients (aged 75±6 years) were included. Exercise capacity was assessed through the estimation of maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O2peak) and the measurement of walking speed (WS). GS was evaluated in the dominant arm using a hand-held dynamometer.
RESULTS: Patients with higher V̇O2peak and WS values exhibited significantly higher GS (P<0.01). GS was significantly related to WS (P<0.01) and V̇O2peak (P<0.01), and inversely associated with age (P<0.01). Results from linear multiple regression analysis (P<0.01) demonstrate that GS was strongly associated with WS (P<0.01) and age (P=0.01), while BMI, weekly LTPA, cardiovascular diagnosis, V̇O2peak and education were not.
CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of WS, V̇O2peak and GS was feasible and well tolerated. These preliminary results suggest that prescribing regular walking activity, educating subjects to perform it at higher average WS, can help to maintain physical function in older patients with cardiovascular disease.

KEY WORDS: Aging; Cardiovascular diseases; Exercise; Walking speed