{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T21:08:46Z","timestamp":1791839326289,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cardiovasc. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Whole-body electrical muscle stimulation (WB-EMS) is an emerging modality that simultaneously activates multiple large muscle groups via a wearable electrode suit. Although localized neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has demonstrated efficacy as an adjunctive strategy in cardiac rehabilitation (CR), WB-EMS has not previously been investigated in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) undergoing CR.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Case description<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A 73-year-old male with recurrent non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), chronic heart failure (LVEF 20%\u201325%), and New York Heart Association class III was admitted for a 24-day inpatient CR programme. Standard CR (cycle ergometry, treadmill, resistance exercises, respiratory physiotherapy, and education, five days\/week) was augmented with WB-EMS (Wiems Revolution Pro; 85\u2005Hz bipolar, 350\u2005\u03bcs, 4\u2005s on\/4\u2005s off, 20\u2005min sessions) three times per week (ten sessions). Safety was monitored with serial creatine kinase (CK), high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-TnI), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), C-reactive protein (CRP), and venous blood gas with lactate, measured before and 2\u20133\u2005h after each session.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Outcomes<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A modest, age-appropriate improvement in functional capacity was accompanied by substantial reverse left-ventricular remodelling: LVEF improved from 27% to 54% (Simpson biplane); peak workload from 66 to 97\u2005W (+47%); six-minute walk test distance from 390 to 590\u2005m (+51%); peak oxygen uptake from 17.42 to 19.02\u2005mL\/min\/kg (+9.2%); and EQ-5D-5L visual analogue scale from 60 to 90\/100. Pre-exercise NT-proBNP fluctuated across the ten sessions (range 318.3\u20131,019.3\u2005pg\/mL); the final-day rise to 1,019.3\u2005pg\/mL likely reflected greater training effort on the last exercise day, supported by the concurrently highest post-session venous lactate of the programme (4.4\u2005mmol\/L;\n                      <jats:italic>\u0394<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009+\u20092.9\u2005mmol\/L). One-month International Physical Activity Questionnaire data demonstrated sustained increases in daily physical activity. CK, hs-TnI, CRP, and venous lactate remained within acceptable safety limits, with no clinical adverse events attributable to WB-EMS.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To our knowledge, this is the first report of WB-EMS combined with standard CR in an HFrEF patient. Comprehensive serial biomarker monitoring confirmed a favorable safety profile. Improvements across functional, echocardiographic, and quality-of-life domains are promising but require confirmation in randomized trials, as multiple concurrent therapeutic interventions preclude causal attribution to WB-EMS alone.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcvm.2026.1863805","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T05:58:41Z","timestamp":1783490321000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Case Report: Whole-body electrical muscle stimulation as an adjunctive tool in cardiac rehabilitation of a patient with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Damian","family":"Sendrowski","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Health Sciences, Pomeranian University in S\u0142upsk","place":["S\u0142upsk, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agata","family":"Pola\u0144ska-Szczap","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Janusz Korczak Voivodeship Regional Specialist Hospital in S\u0142upsk Ltd.","place":["S\u0142upsk, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beata","family":"Hus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Janusz Korczak Voivodeship Regional Specialist Hospital in S\u0142upsk Ltd.","place":["S\u0142upsk, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anastasiia","family":"Vlaieva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Janusz Korczak Voivodeship Regional Specialist Hospital in S\u0142upsk Ltd.","place":["S\u0142upsk, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Szymon","family":"Markowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wiemspro Polska","place":["Jaworze, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abraham","family":"Carl\u00e9-Calo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada","place":["Granada, Spain"]},{"name":"Wiemspro EMS (Wiemspro S.L.)","place":["M\u00e1laga, Spain"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dariusz","family":"Koz\u0142owski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology and Electrotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gda\u0144sk","place":["Gda\u0144sk, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"CD003331","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD003331.pub6","article-title":"Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for adults with heart 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