Physiological response to moderate exercise workloads in a pulmonary rehabilitation program in patients with varying degrees of airflow obstruction.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether a 12-week pulmonary rehabilitation program that includes moderately intensive exercise training performed twice weekly can induce a training effect in patients with a wide variation of airflow limitation.


METHODS
Sixty patients with COPD (38 men) with a mean +/- SD FEV(1) % predicted of 55.1 +/- 19.8 (range, 0.51 to 2.99). All patients performed identical incremental symptom-limited cycle ergometer testing before and after a 12-week study period.


RESULTS
After 12 weeks, the patients demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the peak values for work rate (WR; 77 +/- 30 vs 91 +/- 36 W) and oxygen uptake (1.14 +/- 0.45 vs 1.20 +/- 0.52 L/min). Furthermore, at a given WR during incremental symptom-limited cycle ergometer testing, there were significant (p < 0.05) reductions in minute ventilation (42.4 +/- 16.1 vs 37.0 +/- 13. 6 L/min), carbon dioxide output (1.13 +/- 0.49 vs 1.03 +/- 0.42 L/min), ventilatory equivalent for oxygen (37.6 +/- 8.1 vs 36.0 +/- 6.3), and heart rate (135 +/- 15 vs 128 +/- 16 beats/min). None of the observed physiologic changes correlated with FEV(1) % predicted.


CONCLUSIONS
A pulmonary rehabilitation program performed twice weekly with moderate exercise workloads can lead to a physiologic training response irrespective of the degree of airflow limitation.
Vogiatzis
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School of Health Sciences, University of Sunderland, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sunderland, UK. vogiatzis@hotmail.com
Williamson
A F
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Miles
J
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Taylor
I K
IK
D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D014797:Vital Capacity