2.3.2. Experimental Group
arrhythmia, chest pain, dizziness, hypotension, musculoskeletal injuries
ADVERSE EFFECTS, ARRHYTHMIA
Patients assigned to the exercise group received identical guidelines for adopting a healthy lifestyle (i.e., basic nutritional recommendations and advice on physical activity), just like those in the comparison group. In addition, they participated in two 75-min sessions per week during the whole intervention (i.e., 12 weeks) involving aerobic exercise on a treadmill (BH, Series, i.RC12 Dual, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) at moderate to vigorous intensity. The exercise program’s details are available elsewhere [Sessions took place in groups of five patients in a quiet room at the “Virgen de las Nieves” Hospital, Granada (Spain). Accredited sport sciences staff and Internal Medicine doctors supervised all sessions. Attendance was recorded daily, and patients were contacted if they missed a session to determine the reason and encourage makeup. Adherence to exercise is reported as (i) the median attendance frequency and (ii) the proportion of patients attending more than 75% (i.e., 18 sessions, the minimum required for assessment of efficacy) and (iii) more than 90% of the sessions.Each session included a 3–4-min warm-up on the treadmill at 35–40% of the heart rate reserve (HRR) and 3–4 min of active stretching of major muscle groups and ended with a cooling down phase of major muscle groups’ static stretching. Exercise was individually prescribed, with training intensity ranging from 40 to 75% of each individual’s HRR. The maximum heart rate (HRmax) was estimated as 208 − (0.7 × age) [Potential adverse effects, such as CV symptoms or signs (e.g., chest pain, dizziness, arrhythmia, or effort-related hypotension), musculoskeletal injuries, and falls were successfully minimized through (i) a treadmill familiarization phase, (ii) proper warm-up and cool down phases in all sessions, and (iii) active supervision by the research team which included periodic HR and symptoms monitoring.