Human activity profile evaluates functional performance in patients with heart failure

Background: In patients with heart failure (HF), the possibility of using a questionnaire to estimate the level of physical fitness could help the professionals to identify the functional limitations. Aims: To investigate the validity of the Human Activity Profile questionnaire (HAP) in estimating the functional capacity and the ability of the HAP to differentiate the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Methods: After approval by the Ethics Committee, we evaluated 62 patients with HF. Variables: maximal functional capacity as peak oxygen consumption measured by in the cardiopulmonary exercise test (VO 2 peak CPET) and VO 2 peak estimated by the HAP questionnaire (VO 2 peak HAP). Statistical analysis: The Bland-Altman method to assess the agreement between VO 2 peak CPET and HAP, ANOVA one way to compare the NYHA functional classes and the significance level p Results: The mean of the differences between VO 2 peak CPET and VO 2 peak HAP was statistically different of zero (bias=2.18 mL•kg -1 •min -1 ; p=0.007) and the limits of agreement were wide (-9.88 to 14.24 mL•kg -1 •min -1 ). The VO 2 peak HAP was statistically able to differentiate individuals belonging to NYHA functional classes I, II, and III (p Conclusions: The estimated VO 2 peak HAP was not concordant with the gold standard measure of the CPET. On the other hand, the HAP was able to differentiate the NYHA functional class. Therefore, the HAP is a useful tool for assessing functional performance in patients with HF. Funding: Coord. de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES), Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq); from Brazil.