Study on Usefulness of RPE Scale for the Prescription of Exercise Intensity

Lee, Shi Uk; Han, Tai Ryoon

Abstract

For the prescription of exercise, the intensity is most important. And the most commonly used method for the regulation of exercise intensity is the target heart rate calculated by the results of graded exercise test. However, the heart rate method has many disadvantages such as variances in measurement, cessation of exercise to measure the rate, difficulties in application to patients on cardiac medications like beta-blockers. Rating of perceived exertion(RPE scale) has been widely used for the prescription of exercise intensity in the cardiac and the pulmonary rehabilitation. RPE scale can be superior to the heart rate method since the patient does not have to stop exercise to measure heart rates and also medications would not influence the program. The purpose of this study was to find out if RPE scale would be useful method compared to other various parameters in normal subjects and cardiac patients for the prescription of exercise intensity. In 250 normal healthy adults with normal graded exercise test results and 42 cardiac patients, RPE scale, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, expiratory volume, and respiratory rate were measured during the graded exercise test. Correlation analysis was done between these parameters. In normal adults, heart rate, respiratory rate, double product(heart rate times systolic blood pressure), oxygen consumption to maximal oxygen consumption ratio(VO(2max)%) were significantly correlated with RPE scale. VO(2max)% showed the highest explanatory power of those parameters. In cardiac patients, heart rate, respiratory rate, expiratory volume, VO(2max)%, double product were significantly correlated with RPE scale. Also, VO(2max)% showed the highest explanatory power. VO(2max)% at each RPE scale was slightly lower in cardiac patients than in normal adults but it was not statistically significant. The results showed that RPE scale was highly correlated to VO(2max)% in both groups. VO(2max)% at the same RPE scale was not statistically different in both groups. We concluded that RPE scale is a useful method for the prescription of exercise intensity in both normal person and cardiac patients.