An Evaluation of Phase IV Participants

Aims To evaluate the health and fitness of long-term Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participants.

Methods 34 Phase IV participants (male = 24; female = 10; mean age 72.74 ±5.71 years) with at least 6 months engagement in a once weekly CR circuit exercise class completed anthropometric (BMI and waist circumference), health measurements (resting blood pressure), and 6-minute shuttle walking distance (6MWD) for functional capacity. Comparison was made to a Phase III dataset (n= 669) obtained from the local CR team to evaluate health and functional status of long-term Phase IV participants.

Conclusion A small improvement in sub-maximal functional capacity achieved in this Phase IV CR population, as measured by 6MWD. However, the MET equivalent value for this effort was only just in the moderate intensity range and below the 5-MET threshold normally associated with higher risk stratification. There is scope for education reinforcement related to healthy weight management to control for the risk associated with overweight / obesity, as measured by BMI and waist circumference in both the male and female Phase IV CR population.