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BackgroundAerobic exercise training is associated with beneficial ventricular remodeling and an improvement in cardiac biomarkers in chronic stable heart failure. High‐intensity interval training (HIIT) is a time‐efficient method to improve trueV˙O2peak in stable coronary heart disease patients. This pilot study aimed to compare the effect of HIIT on ventricular remodeling in patients with a recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI).MethodsNineteen post‐AMI patients were randomized to either HIIT (n = 9) or usual care (n = 10). A cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), transthoracic echocardiography, and cardiac biomarker assessment (ie, N‐terminal pro B‐type natriuretic peptide levels and G protein‐coupled receptor kinase 2 expression) were performed before and after a 12‐week training intervention. CPET parameters including oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) and trueV˙O2 at the first ventilatory threshold (trueV˙O2 VT1) were calculated. left ventricular (LV) structural and functional echocardiographic parameters including myocardial strain imaging were assessed.Results trueV˙O2peak and OUES improved solely in the HIIT group (P < .05 for group/time, respectively). There was a significant training effect for the improvement of peak work load in both groups (P < .05). O2 pulse and trueV˙O2 at VT1 both improved only in the HIIT group (P < .05 for time, no interaction). HIIT improved radial strain and pulsed‐wave tissue Doppler imaging derived e′ (P < .05 for time, no interaction). Cardiac biomarkers did not change in either group.ConclusionsIn post‐AMI patients, HIIT lead to significant improvements in prognostic CPET parameters compared to usual care. HIIT was associated with favorable ventricular remodeling regarding certain echocardiographic parameters of LV function.

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