Morale in coronary patients following an exercise programme

Coronary patients, eligible to follow an exercise rehabilitation programme, were assigned at random to exercise and control groups. In the first part of this study, items of a morale questionnaire and performance scores on a cycle ergometer were inter-correlated for 52 patients. Results repeated those of a previous study in which the questionnaire was shown to have high reliability. Workload achieved was significantly correlated with “morale” scores. In the second part of this study 15 exercise patients and 8 controls completed the morale questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of a 3-month period corresponding to the exercise programme. Exercise patients scored higher than controls, and both groups improved in morale over the period. The fall in anxiety scores for the exercise patients was significantly greater than for the controls. Apparently the chief psychological effect of the exercise programme was to give confidence to the patients.