Prescription for exercise

Blog #5
by Nishani

In noon rounds today, we had a discussion about cardiac rehabilitation.  Through this discussion, the topic of prescribing exercise and a heart healthy diet came up. I did not previously think about exercise as something that is “prescribed,” but I think the concept is a great idea.  In my formal medical training, I was taught the two components of heart disease: pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic.   Most often, more time was spent discussing the pharmacologic treatment of coronary artery disease and little attention was given to exercise and diet.  While I could name off the typical medications and doses normally given to someone with coronary artery disease, I was reminded today that I did not know much about the amount of salt in a low-salt diet or the amount of exercise I should recommend.  Usually, I would hand a pamphlet with dietary recommendations and review basic elements such as, low-salt, high fibre, and low-saturated fat with my patients.  Today’s topic brought up an important point that “prescribing” exercise by stating the frequency, intensity, type, and time (FITT Principle) is just as important as prescribing the other medications we usually prescribe to patients.   Knowing about the various programs available to patients to engage in exercise will be important for me as a physician so that I may make practical recommendations to my patients.  This is something I will be looking into to further my own knowledge.