Evolving Role of Exercise Testing in Contemporary Cardiac Rehabilitation

The utility of graded exercise tests, cardiopulmonary exercise tests, submaximal walking tests, and other functional assessments (strength, frailty) for Cardiac Rehabilitation have been reviewed in this article of the Journal of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention.

This review addresses the role and optimal use of exercise testing in contemporary Cardiac Rehabilitation and discusses the merits and limitations of symptom-limited GTX, CPET, and submaximal walking tests in this setting

The article concludes with three key statements on the current evolution of exercise testing in cardiac rehabilitation:

1. "Patient-centered goals of care should be used as a driving standard by which to consider and select exercise testing options"
2. "Exercise testing provides far more than evaluation for myocardial ischemia. Rather, it facilitates a broad spectrum of diagnostic, prognostic, and strategic perspectives to optimize safety and efficacy of management"
3. "Cardiopulmonary exercise testing provides aerobic capacity assessment that is generally superior to standard GXT, both with respect to diagnostic and prognostic assessments"

The article details are the following:

- Title: "Evolving Role of Exercise Testing in Contemporary Cardiac Rehabilitation"
- Authors: Reeves GR1, Gupta S, Forman DE
- Published in: J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev. 2016 Sep-Oct;36(5):309-19

The study can be purchased at the following link: click here