Exercise training is considered a cornerstone of cardiac rehabilitation and is recommended for coronary artery disease (CAD) and chronic heart failure (CHF) patients.1 Participation in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improves aerobic capacity, muscle strength, quality of life and reduces the risk of hospitalisations, adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.1 2 Patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are therefore advised to enrol in a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation programme.1 3
Standard exercise training recommendations in cardiac rehabilitation
Contemporary clinical guidelines promote patients to engage in aerobic exercise training (AET) such as walking, hiking, cycling, etc, for at least 3–5 times per week (figure 1). The recommended intensity of such activities is typically based on a percentage of peak heart rate (HR) or HR reserve (55%–69% peak HR or 40%–59% of HR reserve), peak power output (50%–80% peak power output), or peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2; 50%–90% peak VO2). Each AET session should last between 20 and 60 min, dependent on the intensity of the activity.1–3
Figure 1
Optimisation of exercise training intensity prescription in cardiac rehabilitation. AOP, arterial occlusion pressure; HIIT, high-intensity interval training; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; MICT, moderate-intensity continuous training; 1-RM, one repetition maximum; RT, resistance training; SBP, systolic blood pressure; VO2, peak oxygen consumption.
The benefits of resistance training (RT) have also been acknowledged,1 3 4 and 2–3 weekly sessions are therefore advised for CVD patients. Each session should include multiple exercises for the upper (3–5 sets, 8–15 repetitions/sets and at 30%–70% of one repetition …
