Exercise Program
Patients in the exercise group participated in an aerobic-exercise
program that consisted of two phases, each 16 weeks long. Exercise
training for both phases consisted of stationary cycling on Windracer
exercise bicycles (Randal Sports Medicine Equipment, Kirkland,
Wash.) three times per week. Exercise sessions started with a fiveminute
warm-up period (stretching and slow cycling) before the prescribed
aerobic exercise and ended with an appropriate cooling-off
period. Patients exercised for a mean (SD) of 449 minutes, at approximately
74 percent of the predicted maximal heart rate.