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Physiologic Aspects and Medical Evaluation
Physiologic Aspects and Medical Evaluation
Medical Evaluation
Before a patient begins physical fitness training or other strenuous therapeutic training, he/she
should undergo a medical evaluation by a physician, including a comprehensive medical history,
a thorough physical examination, and an adequate laboratory screening. In cases involving
cardiac conditions, it is important to exclude patients with valvular heart disease, ventricular
hypertrophy, dangerous arrhythmias, and malignant hypertension.
Other cardiac cases, older and/or ill patients, and other patients at risk, such as those with
exercise-induced asthma, hemoglobinopathies, diabetes, or obesity, should have an exercise
stress test carried out under careful medical supervision. This test should include pulse and blood
pressure monitoring and the administration of an electrocardiogram (ECG), prior to exercise.
These individuals require especially close monitoring if they are included in any exercise
program. Patients with musculoskeletal problems need an evaluation by a physical therapist
before beginning an exercise regimen.