Diaphragmatic Functional Electrical Stimulation in Heart Failure

The research will be developed in the São Francisco Hospital, of Santa Casa de Misericordia de Porto Alegre. After the selection of patients for eligibility criteria they will be evaluated, and subsequently the patients in will be trained twice of day for five days or until hospital discharge. Will be use an electric current called functional electrical stimulation through the stimulator device NEURODYN II, IBRAMED mark, Amparo, São Paulo, Brazil. Each session will last 30 minutes. The parameters selected in the stimulator will be: 80 Hz frequency, 0.4 ms pulse, rise 1s, 1s time on, decay 2s, 1s time off, intensity as patient tolerance. The patient will be positioned supine, headboard 30º, knees extended. Furthermore, the electrodes used to perform the electrical stimulation will be adhesive, disposable and hypoallergenic. These will be placed at sixth, seventh and eighth intercostal spaces, axiliar medium line and paraxiphoid both chest sides. At the end of follow-up, will be compared the data of before and after interventions.