Background: Given that exercise programmes for patients with coronary disease or those at risk must be safe and effective, it is necessary to ensure appropriate exercise programme structure and implementation, as well as to use effective patient monitoring. The purpose of the present research was to elucidate key characteristics of exercise programmes in coronary clubs in Slovenia. Methods: A structured questionnaire was sent by e-mail to 150 exercise instructors engaged in Slovenian coronary clubs. Descriptive statistics were used for presentation of results. Results: Twenty-four (28.0%) exercise instructors filled-in and returned the questionnaire. The majority of exercise units (54.7%) was of 60 minutes duration and was carried out twice a week (64.3%). Most of the programmes comprised flexibility exercise and stretching (95.2%), balance exercises (83.3%), steady-state aerobic exercise (69.0%), resistance exercise (54.8%) and interval training (45.2%), in some cases also whole-body relaxation and breathing exercises, coordination and circuit exercises (26.2%). Conclusions: According to recommendations in the literature, the analysed exercise programmes should have comprised more aerobic interval training and resistance exercises. Also, exercise units should have been organised more than twice weekly. Other recommendations have been successfully incorporated in current programmes.
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