Ahmad Sabbahi

University of Illinois at Chicago | UIC · Department of Physical Therapy

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are recommended standard-of-care by all major cardiovascular medicine professional organizations. Exercise training is the cornerstone for CR, with aerobic training being the primary form of training. The benefits of exercise training are multiple; however, improved cardiorespiratory fitness is of utmost importa...

Purpose of Review In the United States (US), 46% of adults have hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mmHg). Approximately, 16% of patients with hypertension have apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH) and the incidence of true resistant hypertension (RHT) is thought to be much lower (~ 2%). These...

There is a reciprocal relationship between common health conditions encountered in physical therapist practice, disability, and healthy living factors, such as physical inactivity, blood pressure, sleep quality, diet, and obesity. This relationship is apparent across all practice settings. Physical therapists are well positioned in the health care...

It has been established that blacks have higher overall incidence and prevalence of hypertension compared to their white counterparts. However, the maximum blood pressure (BP) response of blacks to exercise has not been characterized. A total of 5996 apparently healthy men from the Fitness Registry and Importance of Exercise: A National Database (F...

OBJECTIVES The risks associated with achieving a high peak systolic blood pressure (SBP) during clinical exercise testing remain controversial, although this issue has not been evaluated in relation to predicted SBP standards. This cohort study aimed to evaluate the long-term risk of all-cause mortality in males in relation to reference values of p...

Black Americans have an earlier onset, higher average blood pressure, and higher rates of hypertension-related mortality and morbidity, compared to whites. The racial difference may be related to microvasculature, the major regulatory site of blood pressure. The goal of this study was to compare the response of resistance vessels to high intralumin...

Frailty is a highly prevalent multisystem syndrome in older adults with heart failure (HF) and is associated with poor clinical prognosis and increased complexity of care. While frailty is neither disease nor age specific, it is a clinical manifestation of aging-related processes that reflects a reduced physiological ability to tolerate and recover...

We continue to increase our cognizance and recognition of the importance of healthy living (HL) behaviors and HL medicine (HLM) to prevent and treat chronic disease. The continually unfolding events precipitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have further highlighted the importance of HL behaviors, as indicated by the character...

Introduction Due to the lifestyle changes and the on-going urbanization waves there is obesity pandemic. The visceral fatty tissue of patients with obesity, in comparison with subcutaneous fat, has more gene expression related to inflammation, oxidative stress, cytokine production and angiogenesis. The abovementioned leads to a decrease in arteriol...

Hypertension (HTN) is among the leading global preventable risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature mortality. Early detection and effective management of HTN has demonstrated significant reductions in mortality, morbidity rate, and healthcare costs. Furthermore, screening for HTN by non-physician healthcare providers improves detectio...

Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a broad pathophysiological disorder primarily characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to multiple possible etiologies. Patients typically present with multiple complaints that worsen as disease severity increases. Although initially discouraged due to safety concerns, exercise interv...

Abstract Introduction: Black Americans have an earlier onset, higher average BP, and higher rates of hypertension-related mortality and morbidity. Hypothesis: The goal of this research study was to compare the response of resistance vessels to high intraluminal pressure between black and white participants. Methods: A total of 29 vessels (17 blac...

Hypertensive individuals are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Adopting healthy lifestyles, such as being active on ≥4 days per week, weight-loss in the presence of obesity, consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and sodium below the recommended threshold, avoiding high alcohol consumption and refraining from smo...

Introduction: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has become a well-established treatment option for patients with end stage heart failure (HF) who are refractory to medical therapy. While LVADs implantation does effectively improve hemodynamic performance many patients still possess peripheral pathological adaptations often present...

Oxidative stress is implicated in the etiology of many ethanol-induced pathologies. Oxidative stress has been shown to contribute to the development of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension. This review details mechanisms of vascular function, the role of oxidative stress in vascular biology and how ethanol consum...

Obesity affects 600 million people globally and over one third of the American population. Along with associated comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer; the direct and indirect costs of managing obesity are 21% of the total medical costs. These factors shed light on why developing effective and pragmatic strat...

Objective: It has well been established that African American (AA) individuals have higher overall incidence and prevalence of hypertension compared to their Caucasian American (CA) counterparts. However, the maximum BP response of AA to exercise has not been characterized. The objective of this study is to investigate this peak BP response across...

Dietary pre-workout supplements are popular among recreational exercisers and athletes. However, the effects of these supplements on the vasculature, both at rest and during exercise, are not well studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of one week of supplementation with a multi-ingredient dietary pre-workout supp...

The objective of this study is to expand on previous efforts in establishing normative standards of exercising blood pressure (BP) at maximal physical exertion derived from treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing in the United States. Four experienced laboratories in the United States with established quality control procedures contributed data...

Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of a current physical therapy and weight loss program model on exercise performance, physical function, and cardiometabolic risk factors in obese patients. Design: Retrospective pre-post design. Subjects: A total of 192 patients who previously underwent testing of anthropom...

Hypertension (HTN) has recently been determined to be the number one overall risk factor of disease. With direct and indirect costs amounting to $46.4 billion in 2011 and projections of six-fold increases by 2030, the importance of low-cost nonpharmacological interventions can be appreciated. Vascular structural changes, endothelial dysfunction, an...