Abstract

Current pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) guidelines advocate high-intensity exercise training for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet this approach has been shown to be unachievable in a large proportion of patients. Alternative approaches, such as training at the ventilatory threshold, have been proposed as more tolerable, less unpleasant, and thus possibly easier to comply with for this clientele. This assumption needs to be verified. The purpose of the present study was to compare, in COPD patients, the acute affective and physiological response to high-intensity training (CT80) versus training at the ventilatory threshold (CTVT). Thirteen subjects were randomly assigned to perform 40 minutes (including warm-up and cool-down) of either high-intensity exercise training at 80% of peak work rate (CT80) or training at the ventilatory threshold (CTVT) on a cycle ergometer. Affective response to the exercise bout was measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Global Vigor and Affect Instrument (GVA). Physiological response to the same bout was measured breath by breath with a portable metabolic system. Repeated-measures general linear models and mixed models were conducted using SAS. Positive affect scores from the PANAS increased from pre-, to end-, to post-exercise (time effect) (F=17.56, p=0.0005), but this increase was significant for the CTVT group only (time by intervention interaction) (F=5.85, p=0.02). No significant time or interaction effect was observed for global affect or global vigor from the GVA. In addition, no significant difference in physiological response was observed between CT80 and CTVT. Results from this pilot study suggest that affect improves after an exercise-training bout in COPD patients, especially when the protocol used is CTVT. The acute physiological and symptomatic response to CT80 and CTVT appears to be similar. Keywords: COPD, affective response, physiological response, exercise training.