Resumen de Water compartmentalization and hydration state of patients attending to a cardiac rehabilitation program

Teresa Nestares Pleguezuelo, Magdalena de la Higuera López-Frías, Javier Díaz Castro, M. Gómez, Carlos de Teresa Galván

• Introduction: Alterations in cardiovascular functions can change body water distribution. Therefore it would be interesting to include the control of this parameter in programs of cardiac rehabilitation (PCR) so as to keep body water in a healthy range.

  Objective: To evaluate the effects of PCR on patients’ hydration.

  Method: Study was performed in two groups of patients suffering from a cardiovascular event: 1) PCR: 135 patients attending to a PCR (105 men, 30 women); 2) NOPCR: 70 patients not attending to a PCR (50 men, 20 women). Body water and phase angle were measured by bioelectrical impedance (TANITA MC-980MA multifrequency).

  Results: In PCR group, total water in men was higher (43.77±0.63 vs. 40.44±0.72 kg) (p<0.05) than NOPCR group, and as for women, total water (37.13±1.49vs. 32.54±1.52 Kg) and intracellular water also increased with regard to NOPCR group (20.39±0.94 vs. 17.02±0.81 kg) (p<0.001 and p<0.01 respectively). In addition, a major phase angle exists in left body (4.98±0.23 vs. 6.11±0.18 kg in men and 3.87±0.17 vs. 5.15±0.33 kg in women) and both legs in the PCR group (4.89±0.21 vs. 6.05±0.19 kg in men and 4.02±0.29 vs. 5.21±0.31 kg) (p<0.05).

  Conclusions: Subjects attending PCR showed a higher amount of total and intracellular water and higher phase angle, revealing a better state of hydration, and also a better integrity of the cell membrane and distribution of water between compartments.