BACKGROUND Pulmonary and extrapulmonary impairments are prevalent in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) which is a rare, chronic and progressive disease. OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of upper extremity aerobic exercise training on exercise capacity, oxygen consumption, dyspnea and quality of life in patients with PAH. METHODS In a prospective, randomized controlled, double-blinded study, eleven patients in training group applied upper extremity aerobic exercise training (50-80% of maximal heart rate), 15-45 min/day, 3 days a week for 6 weeks and 11 patients in control group alternating active upper extremity exercises for the same period. Exercise capacity evaluated using six minute walk test (6MWT), oxygen consumption simultaneously measured during 6MWT using a portable instrument, dyspnea modified Borg scale and Modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale and quality of life Short Form 36 Health Survey, before and after the exercise training. RESULTS Baseline characteristics of groups were similar (p>0.05). Dyspnea (p<0.001) and peak oxygen consumption (p = 0.031) were significantly improved in training group compared the controls. Dyspnea, exercise capacity, peak oxygen consumption, minute ventilation, tidal volume, end tidal carbon-dioxide pressure, and vitality, social functioning and role-physical were significantly improved within training group (p<0.05). Oxygen consumption at anaerobic threshold were significantly decreased within control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Upper extremity aerobic exercise training improves oxygen consumption, and decreases dyspnea perception. It is a safe and effective intervention in patients with PAH. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT02371733).

中文翻译：

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上肢有氧运动训练对肺动脉高压患者耗氧量、运动能力、呼吸困难及生活质量的影响

背景肺和肺外损伤普遍存在于肺动脉高压(PAH)中，肺动脉高压(PAH)是一种罕见的慢性进行性疾病。目的探讨上肢有氧运动训练对PAH患者运动能力、耗氧量、呼吸困难及生活质量的影响。方法 在一项前瞻性、随机对照、双盲研究中，训练组 11 名患者应用上肢有氧运动训练（最大心率的 50-80%），15-45 分钟/天，每周 3 天，持续 6 周，对照组11例交替进行同期主动上肢运动。使用六分钟步行测试 (6MWT) 评估运动能力，使用便携式仪器在 6MWT 期间同时测量耗氧量，运动训练前后呼吸困难改良 Borg 量表和改良医学研究委员会呼吸困难量表和生活质量简表 36 健康调查。结果 各组的基线特征相似（p>0.05）。与对照组相比，训练组的呼吸困难 (p<0.001) 和峰值耗氧量 (p = 0.031) 显着改善。训练组的呼吸困难、运动能力、峰值耗氧量、每分钟通气量、潮气量、潮气末二氧化碳压力以及活力、社会功能和身体角色都有显着改善（p<0.05）。在无氧阈值下，对照组的耗氧量显着降低（p<0.05）。结论 上肢有氧运动训练可改善耗氧量，并减少呼吸困难的感觉。它是对 PAH 患者安全有效的干预措施。（ClinicalTrials.gov 注册：NCT02371733）。