Electrocardiographic, Cardiorespiratory and Hemodynamic Responses to Table Tennis in Coronary Patients

Abstract

PURPOSE: Racquet sports, including singles tennis, may be too demanding and inappropriate for many older coronary patients with impaired cardiorespiratory fitness. As an alternative leisure-time physical activity, we evaluated the cardiorespiratory and hemodynamic responses to table tennis in clinically stable patients with coronary disease. METHODS: Ten low risk cardiac men (mean ± SD age = 67.6 ± 8.8 years) satisfying inclusion criteria (functional capacity < 8 metabolic equivalents [METs]) without evidence of impaired left ventricular function, significant dysrhythmias, and/or orthopedic limitations to playing table tennis, completed the study. Patients were monitored for heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and electrocardiographic (ECG) responses at rest and during exercise. Metabolic data were directly obtained using breath-by-breath measurements of oxygen consumption (VO2), adjusted for body weight (kg). Average aerobic requirements during a 10-minute bout of continuous table tennis were individually obtained followed by a rest period of 5-10 minutes, allowing a return to baseline hemodynamic responses. Subjects then repeated the exercise bout with cardiorespiratory measurements obtained on the other participant. Perceived exertion was assessed using the Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale (6-20). RESULTS: Exercise testing in our study subjects revealed an average estimated functional capacity of 6.8 ± 1.4 METs. Baseline HR and BP responses (prior to table tennis) were 74.1 ± 7.8 bpm and 119.2 ± 17.1 mmHg, respectively. Aerobic requirements of table tennis averaged 3.2 ± 0.5 METs, with peak HR and BP responses of 98.0 ± 8.5 bpm and 140.4 ± 16.2 mmHg, respectively. RPE during table tennis averaged 10.6 ± 1.7. Considering the target heart rate ranges (50%-80% of the heart rate reserve) based on the patients most recent graded exercise test, most subjects (n = 7) fell within or below their prescribed exercise intensity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that table tennis represents a viable leisure-time activity for many cardiac rehabilitation participants with a modestly impaired level of cardiorespiratory fitness. The average aerobic requirement of table tennis (2.7-3.7 METs) approximated the exercise training workloads for many of these patients.