ELECTRICALLY ASSISTED CYCLING:
A NOVEL MODE FOR MEETING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
GUIDELINES IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE PATIENTS?
www.jessazh.be/hartcentrum - www.uhasselt.be
AUTHORS: INES FREDERIX 1,2,3, DOMINIQUE HANSEN 1,2, AN SOORS 1,
VALERIE DELUYKER 1, PAUL DENDALE 1,2
1 FACULTY OF MEDICINE & LIFE SCIENCES, HASSELT UNIVERSITY, AGORALAAN GEBOUW D, DIEPENBEEK, BELGIUM
2 DEPARTMENT OF CARDIOLOGY/HEART CENTRE HASSELT, JESSA HOSPITAL, STADSOMVAART 11, 3500 HASSELT, BELGIUM
3 FACULTY OF MEDICINE & HEALTH SCIENCES, ANTWERP UNIVERSITY, PRINSSTRAAT 13, ANTWERPEN
CONCLUSIONS:
EAB reduces ratings of perceived exertion, while
maintaining a sufficiently high exercise intensity
level according to international secondary prevention
recommendations for coronary artery disease patients.
EAB can take away barriers for the least-fit and
discouraged patients, improving their adherence to
exercise training.
BACKGROUND
Exercise training is effective in secondary prevention for coronary artery
disease.
Unfortunately, current adherence
rates to exercise prescription are poor.
Electrical assisted bicycles (EAB) are
pushed forward to increase exercise
adherence, especially for the leastmotivated and least-fit patients.
This study assessed the acute
physiological load of EAB to test
its potential as an alternative method to continue to perform exercise
training.
RESULTS
This study was a mono-center, prospective, randomized cross-over
clinical trial.
15 coronary artery disease patients (2 females, 13 males), aged 64
±7 years cycled a predefined route of
10 km using 3 different supporting
settings: classical bike (no support),
EAB with low support (EABlow) and EAB
with high support (EABhigh).
The exercise oxygen consumption (VO2) was measured, cycling
time was determined, and ratings of
perceived exertion were assessed at
3 km and 7 km of cycling.
FIGURE 1: EVOLUTION OF VO2 (ML/MIN) DURING THE CYCLING PROTOCOL
(AS % OF TOTAL CYCLING TIME) FOR BOTH THE CLASSICAL BICYCLE,
THE EABLOW AND EABHIGH. THE VO2 CURVES REPRESENT THE MEAN VO2
FOR ALL STUDY PARTICIPANTS.
2200
2000
1800
VO2 [ML/MIN]
METHODS
1400
1600
1200
classical bicycle
1000
EABlow
EABhigh
800
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
TIME [%TOTAL]
60
70
80
90
100
Mean VO2 for EABhigh (1,729 ± 139
ml/min) was lower, than for EABlow
(1,890 ± 160 ml/min), p = .038 (see
also Figure 1).
Both classical bicycle, EABlow and
EABhigh sessions were sufficiently
high to contribute to the moderateintensity standard (3-6 MET) of exercise training standards for secondary
prevention in coronary artery disease
patients.
Ratings of perceived exertion were
significantly lower for EABhigh (9 ± .6),
than for EAB low (11 ± .5), p = .014
and classical bicycle sessions (11 ± .6),
p = .007.