ABSTRACT

THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOLLOWING A HEART DISEASE REVERSAL PROGRAM. Robert C. Lowe and Ronald M. Williams. Baptist Health Medical Center, Little Rock, AR 72205.

We previously reported that physical activity (PA) returned to near baseline by 6 and 12 mo. following an intensive cardiac risk intervention program (CRI; Lowe, et. al, 1998). The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in CRI resulted in a shift between moderate (MOD) and high intensity (HI) physical activity. Twenty-nine patients (17 male and 12 female; 60±12 yr.) participated in the CRI program three days per week for 12 weeks. Patients were followed at 6 and 12 months post-program to evaluate compliance to diet and exercise and to measure lipids. Physical activity was measured using the Short Physical Activity History (Jacobs, et al. JCR 1989; 9:448-459) and reported as arbitrary units. Data was analyzed ANOVA with repeated measures across time (Baseline, 12 weeks, 6 mo., and one year). The results are presented below:

Variable BASELINE 12 WEEKS 6 MONTHS ONE YEARPA 169±20 338±33* 272±12 261±14

MOD 136±14 259±19* 208±12 224±15HI** 31±9 80±20* 59±10 32±9

p < 0.05 compared to all others; ** p < 0.05 compared to slope of MOD

The results indicated that PA, HI, and MOD increased at 12 weeks. However, all measures declined at 6 mo. and one year despite periodic follow-up aimed at maintaining compliance. Further, HI declined more rapidly than MOD. In summary, the type of PA, HI, or MOD, may be important to consider when developing exercise prescriptions for this patient population.