Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis and cardiovascular performance in liver-transplanted recipients

Purpose: The lifestyle, which combines regular physical activity and adherence to a healthy diet, treats many chronic diseases. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of mortality after liver transplantation. The study aims to verify the effectiveness of promoting a healthy lifestyle by comparing implementing the Mediterranean diet with an unsupervised physical activity program in a sample of males undergoing liver transplantation. Methods: Thirty-three male liver transplant recipients aged 61.4 ± 8.0 years to 1.2 A ˆ ± 0.7 years post-transplant were enrolled. Bioelectrical vector impedance analysis (BIVA) and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) were performed. Pearsonaˆ€TMs correlation test (Spearmanaˆ€TMs test for not normally distributed values) was applied to examine the relationships between BIVA and CPET. Results: The results report a VO2 peak = 22.5 A ˆ ± 5.5 ml/kg/min with heart rate max = 153.2 ± 16.6 bpm. On average, the positioning of the subjects is in the middle of the R/Xc graph. Furthermore, the BIVA values of resistance correlate with the submaximal performance of Ve/VCO2 slope (R = 0.509; p\0.05) and phase angle with the maximal effort of VO2 peak (R = 0.557; p\0.05). Conclusions: The group of liver transplant patients showed moderate physical activity levels. Therefore, the results lead us to hypothesize that an approach based on a lifestyle intervention could further reduce the cardiovascular risk factor associated with chronic disease.