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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Case
report
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EXERCISE LIMITATIONS IN A COMPETITIVE CYCLIST TWELVE MONTHS POST HEART TRANSPLANTATION |
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Jeremy A. Patterson 
and Nicolas G. Walton |
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Department of Human Performance Studies, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, USA. |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 696 - 701 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| It has been well documented that for heart transplant recipients
(HTrecipient) post transplantation exercise capacity does not exceed 60%
of healthy age-matched controls. Few studies have been undertaken to determine
the cause of exercise limitations following heart transplantation (HT) for
an elite athlete. Participant was a 39 year old elite male cyclist who suffered
an acute myocardial infarction after a cycling race and received a heart
transplant (HT) four months later. Six weeks prior to his AMI fitness testing
was completed and a predicted VO2max of 58 mL·kg-1·min-1
and HRmax of 171 bpm was achieved. The participant underwent
maximal exercise testing 6 and 12 months post transplant to determine exercise
limitations. His results 6 and 12 months post transplant were a VO2max
of 33.8 and 44.2 mL·kg-1·min-1 respectively, and a
HR max that was 97% and 96% of HRmax measured. The participant
showed an increase in both HRmax and VO2max 12 months
post HT compared to previous testing. Results suggest that the limiting
factors to exercise following HT are likely due to peripheral function,
which became diminished as a result accumulated from 4 months of congestive
heart failure, the strain of HT, and immunosuppressive therapy leading up
to the exercise testing. Lifestyle before HT and a more aggressive approach
to HT recovery should be considered necessary in the improvement of peripheral
functioning following HT.
Key words: Transplant rehabilitation, orthotopic transplant, aerobic capacity. |
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