Co-authors of the study:
Sitoko Hayakawa, M.S.,
and Gary J. Balady, M.D.

Source: American Heart Association

New Orleans, Nov. 12, 1996 -- Many health and fitness clubs, which provide exercise facilities for millions of Americans, do not routinely pre-screen new members for potentially life-threatening heart and blood vessel diseases, Boston researchers reported here today at the American Heart Association's 69th Scientific Sessions.

These findings also pertain to exercise centers that have special programs for the elderly and/or people with diagnosed heart disease.

Kyle J. McInnis, Sc.D., and his colleagues at Boston University Medical Center, studied the policies of 204 randomly selected health clubs in Massachusetts that collectively had more than 76,000 members. They found that 40 percent of the 110 facilities that responded never review their emergency plans. Also, fewer than four percent of clubs that offer special programs for people with heart disease have a defibrillator, which is an instrument that can jolt a wildly beating heart back to a normal rhythm with an electric shock. Newer defibrillators are automated and require minimal training in their use.

Furthermore, McInnis noted, 30 percent of clubs stated that fewer than half of their fitness staff have a bachelor's degree in exercise science or a related field. Ten percent responded that none of their staff members has such a degree.

"The American Heart Association and other groups recognize that lack of exercise is a major risk factor for heart disease," explains McInnis, assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. "There's also a big push nationally to promote physical activity, and membership in fitness clubs is growing by tens of thousands each year. We need to do more to ensure that these people are working out in a safe exercise environment, especially people who are elderly or at high risk of heart attack."

According to the American Heart Association only about 22 percent of the U.S. population engage in enough regular physical activity to achieve cardiovascular fitness.

One problem in this fast-growing fitness industry, McInnis adds, is that in many locales health clubs are not subject to licensing. "There are guidelines but no regulatory authorization. Basically, anyone who wants to open a health club or fitness center can do so. Our research shows that stronger screening standards and better emergency procedures are sorely needed."

Of the health clubs surveyed, 38 percent did not routinely screen patrons for cardiovascular problems prior to beginning an exercise program. Of those that did screen, 25 percent allowed people with diagnosed coronary heart disease to exercise without first obtaining written physician consent.

Staff emergency training was conducted by 81 percent of all clubs surveyed and 89 percent of clubs that offer special programs for the elderly or those with cardiac illness. But emergency drills were reviewed at least twice annually at only 13 percent of all clubs and 17 percent of those with special programs. Forty percent of the clubs -- including 33 percent of those with special programs -- reported they never reviewed their emergency procedures. Only three percent of all clubs had an on-site defibrillator, a device that can restore normal heart action in people experiencing cardiac arrest.

"There have been numerous cases in which people died while exercising at a fitness center, and in some of them, lawsuits have been filed against health clubs," McInnis says. "The clubs may need to adopt more efficient screening and emergency measures for their own protection."

Meanwhile, he and his colleagues hope their study will help generate a national call for action to make organized exercise safer for the millions of Americans involved.

"This is not intended as an attack on the health and fitness industry, but my advice to the public is to look for a club that makes a point of asking about health issues," McInnis concludes. "If the one you're thinking about joining doesn't ask, I'd suggest looking for another club."