Journal of Clinical Medicine
Incidence and Factors Associated with Suboptimal Exercise Workload Progression in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Cohort Study
By Guy Halevi, Oren Caspi, Noa Haimovich and 3 others.
Abstract
Background
Improving cardiorespiratory fitness is a central goal of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), yet exercise workload progression varies substantially. We aimed to characterize changes in treadmill workload during CR and determine the frequency of, and the factors associated with, suboptimal progression.
Methods
This retrospective cohort study included 180 patients enrolled in an outpatient CR program. Treadmill exercise workload was quantified in metabolic equivalents (METs) from recorded speed and grade using estimated oxygen-consumption equations. Using prespecified exploratory thresholds, suboptimal progression was defined as an absolute increase of <1 MET or a relative increase of <30%, determined by comparing mean workloads achieved during the initial and final four sessions. Factors associated with suboptimal progression were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.