Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the functional capacity and Health-Related Quality of Life as well as to determine the association between these parameters in patients with Pulmonary Hypertension.
Approval was sought from the institutional ethics committee. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Participants aged 18–65-year-old diagnosed with mild (resting mPAP: 25-40 mmHg) to moderate (resting mPAP:41-55 mmHg) PH within the previous 6 months were recruited from the Cardiology out-patients department. Functional capacity was assessed with 30-second Sit to Stand (STS) Test. The test was performed with a standard height (46 cm) chair without armrests, where, the number of completed repetitions was recorded. HRQoL was evaluated using PH-specific questionnaire called emPHasis-10, consisting of 10 relatable questions. Each question was scored on a six-point scale ranging from zero to five, with higher scores indicating poor HRQoL. Analysis was done, and since STS test data was not normally distributed, association of functional capacity and HRQoL was carried out using Spearman’s ranked order correlation.
Our study included 76 participants with PH, out of which 48.67% (n = 37) were males and 51.33% (n=39) were females. Out of the total participants, 85.52% (n=65) had mild whereas, 14.48% (n=11) had moderate PH. The median score of 30-second STS test was 5 repetitions (IQR 4-7) and the mean score of emPhasis-10 was 18.67 ± 7.18. Spearman’s ranked order correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant moderate negative correlation (r= -0.726, p= 0.00) observed between the 30-second STS test and EmPhasis-10.
The authors conclude that there is a significant moderate negative association between functional capacity and HRQoL in patients with mild-to-moderate PH, with higher emphasis-10 scores correlating with poor functional capacity. This could be explained due to pathophysiological alterations in central and peripheral systems coupled with hemodynamic changes that accelerate exercise intolerance, contributing to symptom affection and difficulty in performing everyday tasks by precipitating reduction in mobility, as well as overall well-being in individuals with PH.
The presence of this important association as early as in mild PH should encourage all physiotherapists to aggressively monitor their symptom progression and integrate these patients into an individualized exercise-based cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program, with an emphasis on improving their cardiopulmonary endurance and reducing exercise intolerance. The results from this study also highlight the need for timely functional capacity assessment, which could be done using a rapid and feasible test like the STS test, to prevent symptom progression and aid in improving HRQoL.
Pulmonary Hypertension
Quality of Life
