Rationale: Previous studies have demonstrated that up-tempo music is associated with increases in spontaneous exercise intensity in healthy individuals. Given that increased exercise intensity is associated with increases in the incidence of cardiovascular complications in patients with cardiovascular disease, knowledge of how music affects exercise intensity in this population is needed.

Objectives: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the spontaneous exercise intensity in a chair aerobics session would increase when the tempo of musical background was increased.

Methods: Eleven middle-aged and older participants in an exercise-based rehabilitation program (age range = 57-75) performed randomly ordered chair aerobics sessions during which either normal music or music modified to increase tempo (120% of normal) was played. Heart rate was measured via radiotelemetry, and RPE by the category ratio scale.

Results: Heart rate increased (P < .01) ~5 bpm or ~4% HRmax during program sessions with more up-tempo music. Although the average of %HRmax values remained within ACSM guidelines, 5 of the 11 subjects demonstrated >85%HRmax during the up-tempo music, for durations ranging from 29 to 127 s. HR values above 85%HRmax were seen in the individuals with the lowest values for HRmax. The RPE at the conclusion of the chair aerobic session was increased 4.6 +/- 1.5 vs 5.5 +/- 1.8 during the normal and up-tempo sessions, respectively.

Conclusions: In support of the experimental hypothesis, both heart rate and RPE responses suggest that more up-tempo music increases the spontaneous exercise intensity in middle-aged and older patients during chair aerobics. The frequency of heart rate observations above 85%HRmax suggests the potential for increased risk during sessions where musical tempo is accelerated.