OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of a home exercise program using transtelephonic exercise monitoring (TEM). DESIGN: Prospective, two-group experimental, random assignment. SETTING: Urban centered hospital and surrounding community. SUBJECTS: Twenty cardiac rehabilitation patients entering a phase II cardiac rehabilitation program. OUTCOME MEASURES: Maximal oxygen consumption, blood pressure, pressure-rate product, workload. INTERVENTION: Twenty male cardiac patients were randomly enrolled in either a 12-week home- or hospital-based exercise program. Maximal exercise tolerance tests were conducted, before and after exercise intervention, on a computer-driven bicycle ergometer. Subjects trained 3 days per week for 12 weeks on a bicycle ergometer for a maximum of 35 minutes at 75% of maximum heart rate reserve or functional capacity. RESULTS: Posttraining results showed significant improvement in cardiac function for both groups. Two patients in the TEM group developed new arrhythmias while exercising that required medication changes; however, no medical emergencies arose in either exercise group. Independent Student t test showed no significant difference between groups before or after training. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that TEM is an effective alternative for the rehabilitation of patients who are unable to return to a hospital-based program.

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