Dr. Cynthia Nyquist-Battie (left), Dr. Lillia Loriz (middle) and student Lynne Dunn on an exercise bike.

An innovative community research effort between UNF and the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville will explore the potential benefits of exercise for heart patients.

The program, which is funded through a grant from the College of Health Dean's Professorship supported by the Brooks Health Foundation, will include heart patients undergoing 12 weeks of supervised exercise concentrating on the upper extremities. Dr. Cynthia Nyquist-Battie, associate professor of public health and a co-principal investigator for the project, says the program is an outstanding example of how community resources can be used to pursue research in the metro area.

The partnership was praised by College of Health Dean Dr. Pam Chally. "Research by Mayo physicians and scientists has improved the health and well being of people around the world. It is always a privilege to work with them in any endeavor, but specially in research projects," she said.

The goal of the research is to improve exercise guidelines for heart patients as well as enhancing their ability to perform daily activities. "People with heart failure have an energy problem. It's hard for them to do daily activities. What we want to know is what type of exercise program is optimal to improve the quality of life for these patients," Battie says. Specifically, the researchers will be examining the benefits of upper body exercise. Although it has been well-documented that aerobic exercises benefit patients with heart disease, most aerobic exercise programs involve lower body exertion such as running or cycling. This study will determine if rehabilitation programs using upper body exercises are similarly effective.

The Mayo Clinic is recruiting 18 patients who will undergo a quality of life assessment and then begin the 12-week upper body exercise rehabilitation program. It will consist of a 40-minute exercise session three times a week. If additional funding becomes available, the program will be continued with the addition of a control group of patients doing lower body rehabilitation exercises.

At the end of the initial 12-week program, the patients will again undergo a quality of life assessment as well as a series of tests to determine what impact, if any, resulted from the upper body exercise program. If financing is secured for the second part of the program, data can then be collected from both groups to illustrate the relative benefit of upper body exercise versus lower body exercise.

Battie says there is some reason to believe that upper body exercise alone will achieve a significant improvement in the quality of life of heart patients. A similar study done with heart patients in wheelchairs indicated a significant improvement in the quality of life, she notes.

Also involved in the project are Dr. Gerald F. Fletcher, principal investigator at the Mayo Clinic and Barbara Fletcher, who is a research associate professor of nursing and will oversee the exercise training. In addition to Battie, UNF representatives on the project include Dr. Li Loriz in UNF's School of Nursing; Dr. Chris Joyce, in UNF's Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Department; and Dr. Bill Wilson, professor in Mathematics and Statistics who is the statistical consultant.