title: Standardized informal exercise testing for programming rate adaptive pacemakers.
abstract: It is essential that patients with pacemakers capable of rate modulation undergo some form of exercise testing to assure appropriate rate modulation. Informal exercise testing is a reasonable and less expensive alternative to formal treadmill testing. Empiric adjustment of the rate response parameters by assessing the patient's rate response while walking at a self-determined casual and brisk pace has been used. However, no normals exist to determine the appropriate rate response for a "casual" and "brisk" walk. Volunteers were tested with metronome-guided casual and brisk walks in an effort to standardize the informal exercise and determine expected heart rate response for these levels of activity. Results of the metronome-guided rate response in normal volunteers may be useful in determining the appropriate rate response for pacemaker patients when tested in such an informal manner.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Von Feldt
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Higano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D012016:Reference Values; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D016138:Walking