A proper determination of the exercise intensity is crucial the rehabilitation of patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) because of its effects both on effectiveness and on safety of exercise training. On June 2, 2021, the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology published a new position paper from the European Association for Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) on current approaches to optimal exercise intensity determination in patients with CVD.
In 2013, EAP published a position statement on aerobic exercise intensity assessment and prescription in cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) together with the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and the Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation. Since that publication, many subsequent papers appeared concerning the determination of the exercise intensity in CR, in which some controversies were revealed and some of the commonly applied concepts were further refined. Moreover, the 2013 position paper didn’t cover determination of exercise intensity during resistance training.
In light of these new findings, an update on how to determine the exercise intensity for patients with CVD is mandatory, both for aerobic and resistance exercises. In this EAPC position paper, it is explained in detail which objective and subjective methods for CR exercise intensity determination exist for aerobic and resistance training, together with their advantages or disadvantages and practical applications.
Reference: https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurjpc/zwab007/6291268
