Establishing Activity and Training Levels for Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

Abstract

The paper presents guidelines for determining ideal training heart rates and recreational and occupational energy-cost levels for individual patients with ischemic heart disease. These guidelines were established by Karvonen, are based on results of progressive exercise testing, and have been applied to a broad spectrum of subjects in outpatient conditioning programs. How to apply these guidelines to establish beneficial and safe activity levels is illustrated with a fictional patient's medical history, progressive exercise test results, and recreational and occupational history and preferences.