Assessment of a circuit of exercises through heart rate response

Objective: A circuit of seven exercises was designed for a cardiac population. This study evaluated whether the patients achieved their training heart rate during the circuit, recommended to be 70–85% of the maximum heart rate achieved during an exercise test. Design: Patients were randomly allocated to a starting exercise to balance any order effect from performing the exercises in a given sequence. Each of the seven exercises was performed for 30 s, so one circuit lasted 3.5 min. The circuit was repeated five times. Patients: Twenty patients who had had myocardial infarctions within 6 weeks of the study participated. Outcome: Heart rate was measured to assess the stress placed on the cardiorespiratory system during the circuit. Measurements were taken at 10 and 20 s following the termination of each exercise and over two repetitions of the circuit (a total of 14 exercise periods). Results and conclusion: Comparisons of the readings taken at 10 and 20 s indicated, contrary to previously published findings, that no significant heart rate deceleration occurred within this period. Every exercise maintained the mean heart rate within the specified band of 70–85% of the maximum heart rate achieved during the exercise test. The study has shown that the selected exercises were suitable for use during a cardiac rehabilitation programme.