Is Aerobic Training in COPD Patients Safe and Effective?
Studies have shown that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can improve their ability to perform certain tasks by becoming involved in lower-extremity exercise programs. According to some studies, high-intensity exercise programs lead to significantly greater improvements in endurance in these patients compared with low-intensity exercise programs. In these studies, however, the level of intensity was defined by the symptom limitations of the patients and not by physiologic testing. Gimenez and colleagues looked at the outcomes of a maximally tolerated 45-minute aerobic training program in patients with COPD compared with those of a commonly prescribed moderate exercise program. The authors conducted a prospective randomized trial of patients with established COPD whose condition had been clinically stable for one month. Patients who qualified for the trial were randomly assigned to high- or moderate-intensity exercise groups. Patients in the high-intensity group
