Does Heart Rate Matter?
It is normal for your heart rate to rise during aerobic exercise. However, there is no single heart-rate number that is safe or appropriate for every person with cancer.
Research protocols for anxiety and depression have often described moderate aerobic exercise using approximately 60% to 80% of maximum heart rate or a perceived exertion of 13 to 15 on the 6-to-20 Borg scale. (3) These ranges describe the exercise used in clinical research. They should not be treated as automatic starting targets for every participant.
A simple “220 minus your age” calculation can create a false sense of precision. Heart-rate response can be affected by:
Beta-blockers and other heart-rate-altering medicines
Cancer treatments that affect the heart or lungs
Anemia or low blood counts
Fever, infection or dehydration
Pain, fatigue and loss of fitness
Existing heart rhythm, heart or lung conditions
For these reasons, this program does not use one universal target heart rate.
How exercise intensity will be monitored
We use several signs together:
Perceived effort: Participants may begin at a very light or light effort and gradually progress toward moderate effort when appropriate. On a 0-to-10 scale, moderate effort is generally around 3 to 4, although the correct level may be lower on difficult treatment days.
The talk test: At moderate intensity, you should be breathing more deeply but still able to speak. If speaking becomes difficult, the pace is too demanding and should be reduced.
Symptoms: Dizziness, unusual breathlessness, chest discomfort, sudden weakness, unsteadiness or new pain matter more than reaching a particular number on a watch.
Heart rate: When appropriate, heart rate may provide an additional objective check. Any target range should be personalised by a qualified professional, especially for someone taking beta-blockers or living with a heart or lung condition. (7, 9)
A 2026 study examining 3,533 home-based exercise sessions among cancer survivors found that perceived effort did not always align closely with heart-rate-based intensity. This means neither perceived effort nor heart rate should be relied upon alone. (7)