title: An investigation of pre-activity cardiovascular screening procedures in health/fitness facilities--part I: is adherence with national standards decreasing?
abstract: This investigation determined the number of health/fitness facilities within a Midwestern region conducting pre-activity cardiovascular screening procedures (PACSPs) consistent with American Heart Association/American College of Sports Medicine (AHA/ACSM) standards. Interviews were conducted with 123 commercial, community, corporate, and academic settings (84% response rate), with 40 (33%) facilities requiring members to complete a pre-activity screening device. Of those, 20 (50%) required physician clearance for "at-risk" members prior to physical activity participation. Personal training clients completed a pre-activity screening device at 50 (61%) facilities, with 32 (64%) requiring physician clearance for at-risk clients. The data were analyzed by setting, with corporate facilities having a significantly higher (P=.0049) adherence rate with AHA/ACSM standards than other facilities. Data were compared with previous studies and indicated a decrease in the number of facilities conducting PACSPs. Findings indicate that health/fitness personnel need to become aware of the relevance of conducting PACSPs.
authors.affiliation: Milwaukee Area Technical College, 700 West State Street, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA. springej@matc.edu
authors.forename: Judy B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Springer
authors.forename: Joann M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Eickhoff-Shemek
authors.forename: Ernest J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Zuberbuehler
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D020446:Fitness Centers; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening