Which phase of cardiac rehabilitation typically concludes with a low-level exercise test?

The phase of cardiac rehabilitation that typically concludes with a low-level exercise test is phase I. This phase usually takes place during the patient's hospital stay following a cardiac event, such as a myocardial infarction. The primary focus during phase I is to ensure patient safety and assess their functional capacity through gradual, supervised activity.

At the end of this phase, a low-level exercise test may be conducted to evaluate the patient's response to physical activity, including vital signs, symptoms, and overall exercise tolerance. This assessment helps to inform the next steps of the rehabilitation process and ensure that the patient is ready to safely progress to more structured exercise regimes in later phases of rehabilitation.

Phase II focuses on outpatient cardiac rehabilitation and typically includes more structured and progressive exercise programs, but it generally does not begin with a low-level exercise test as the initiating factor—it builds upon the findings from phase I. Subsequently, phases III and IV involve ongoing maintenance and advanced exercise programs rather than evaluations that occur primarily during hospitalization.