Curing Diabetes

The target heart rate, which is 70% to 85% of your patient’s maximum heart rate, determines the intensity of exercise. A physician may order an exercise stress test to determine your patient’s target heart rate. Some patients with diabetes have silent ischemia. Their maximum heart rates may be 15% to 20% lower than those of people without diabetes.

Another method used to establish the intensity of exercise is the patient’s rating of perceived exertion. Using a scale of 0 (no exertion) to 10 (extreme exertion), she rates how hard she is working. If your patient’s perceived exertion is 3, instruct her to increase her exertion gradually until her rating reaches 5 (moderate exertion).

Show your patient how to take a pulse so that she can monitor her heart rate during exercise. Advise her that exercise shouldn’t cause shortness of breath. Explain other signs and symptoms that indicate a need to stop exercise, including light-headedness and fatigue. Review the signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Demonstrate how to use feelings of exertion, such as fatigue, to monitor exercise intensity. This is particularly useful for patients with autonomic neuropathy, whose heart rates may not accurately reflect the intensity of exercise.

Instruct your patient to carry medical identification and a readily available source of carbohydrate whenever they exercises.

Filed under: Diabetes Treatment