Exercise Prescriptions for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Physiotherapists are often confronted with patients with (elevated risk for) cardiovascular disease (CVD), even when this is not the primary indication for physiotherapy. Hence, physiotherapists should be able to provide evidence-based exercise advice to these patients, but this has not been assessed. The aim of this study was therefore to assess whether exercise prescriptions by physiotherapists to patients with CVD are in accordance with international recommendations.

Detailed Description
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In this prospective observational survey, forty-seven Belgian physiotherapists agreed to prescribe exercise intensity, frequency, session duration, program duration, and exercise type (endurance or strength training) for the same three patient cases. Exercise prescriptions were compared between clinicians and relations with clinician characteristics were studied. In addition, the agreement between physiotherapists' exercise prescriptions and those from international recommendations (based on a maximal score of 60/per case) was assessed.

Official Title
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Are Exercise Prescriptions for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease, Made by Physiotherapists, in Agreement With International Guidelines?

Conditions
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Cardiovascular Diseases

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: To prescribe exercise prescription for CVD patients


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Currently professionally active Flemish physiotherapists Exclusion Criteria: Not having access to a device that allows the use of the EXercise Prescription in Everyday practice & Rehabilitative Training (EXPERT) tool.
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Other: To prescribe exercise prescription for CVD patients|To prescribe exercise intensity, frequency, session duration, program duration, and exercise type (endurance or strength training) for the same three patient cases|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exercise intensity | Assessment of the prescription of exercise intensity (expressed in heart rate in beats per minute) | February - April 2022 | 
| Exercise frequency | Assessment of exercise frequency (expressed in number of exercise sessions per week) | February - April 2022 | 
| Session duration | Assessment of session duration (expressed in number of minutes) | February - April 2022 | 
| Program duration | Assessment of program duration (expressed in number of weeks) | February - April 2022 | 
| Exercise type | Aerobic exercise or strength exercise | February - April 2022 | 
| Total exercise volume | Multiplication of number of prescribed weeks, number of prescribed sessions/week, prescribed individual session duration and prescribed exercise intensity | February - April 2022 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Association between exercise prescriptions and clinician characteristics' | Relations between exercise prescriptions (intensity, frequency, session/program duration, exercise type) and clinician characteristics (age, gender, education, experience,...) were studied. | February - April 2022 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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physiotherapy, exercise prescription, cardiovascular disease