Assessment of a geriatric exercise programme using ambulatory electrocardiography.

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy as well as the immediate possible cardiovascular risk of a geriatric exercise programme, administered without prior medical screening or evaluation of the exercise capacity of the participants, in improving cardiorespiratory fitness. Ambulatory electrocardiography performed during exercise on 6 randomly selected male participants in a physiotherapist-controlled geriatric exercise programme revealed heart rates of 72-97/min, values unlikely to produce significant improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness. This low-intensity exercise session did not induce any ischaemic ST-segment displacements, or arrhythmias displaying the generally accepted criteria for premonitory arrhythmias known to precede the development of ventricular fibrillation. However, subsequent stress testing, performed at the lower threshold intensity of exercise needed to elicit a significant physiological training effect, resulted in an adverse cardiac response in 3 subjects, of whom 2 were asymptomatic. We conclude that the geriatric exercise programme under investigation would be unlikely to result in improved cardiorespiratory fitness in the majority of participants, but if such a programme is to be implemented in a safe manner in a geriatric population, prior medical screening including exercise testing is mandatory.