Superior Cardiovascular Effect of Aerobic Interval Training Versus Moderate Continuous Training in Heart Failure Patients

Abstract

Background-Exercise training reduces the symptoms of chronic heart failure. Which exercise intensity yields maximal beneficial adaptations is controversial. Furthermore, the incidence of chronic heart failure increases with advanced age; it has been reported that 88% and 49% of patients with a first diagnosis of chronic heart failure are Ͼ65 and Ͼ80 years old, respectively. Despite this, most previous studies have excluded patients with an age Ͼ70 years. Our objective was to compare training programs with moderate versus high exercise intensity with regard to variables associated with cardiovascular function and prognosis in patients with postinfarction heart failure. Methods and Results-Twenty-seven patients with stable postinfarction heart failure who were undergoing optimal medical treatment, including ␤-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (aged 75.5Ϯ11.1 years; left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction 29%; V O 2peak 13 mL · kg Ϫ1 · min

Impact of cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training programs in coronary heart disease

“…In smaller studies, HIIT protocols have a clear benefit to MICT protocols. 3,32,60 In all three studies, O2 uptake/aerobic capacity was significantly higher in the HIIT participant subgroups. Additionally Wisløff and colleagues found that HIIT was…”

“…However, more recent studies by Wisløff and others have shown that ET can elicit beneficial peripheral metabolic adaptations in patients with HF, resulting in a paradigm shift in favor of structured ET as an integral component of CR. 3,21 Despite favorable data and Class I recommendations, most eligible CHD patients do not enroll in CR. Likely reasons are that referrals for these programs are often not part of routine care for many physicians and access to facilities is difficult in rural areas.…”

“…3 The major difference between the smaller and larger studies discussed above is the presence of strict controls on ET intensity, allowing a clearer separation in ET patterns of individuals enrolled into HIIT and MICT protocols. Collectively, these data suggest added benefits from higher intensity ET, especially when using HIIT protocols.…”

Effects of Leisure‐Time and Transport‐Related Physical Activities on the Risk of Incident and Recurrent Myocardial Infarction and Interaction With Traffic‐Related Air Pollution: A Cohort Study

“…A Swedish study showed a 31% reduced risk for incident MI associated with high versus low leisure‐time physical activities 34. Earlier studies with data on high‐ and moderate‐intensity exercise among CVD patients found that both intensity levels decreased CVD risk, but also pointed to the knowledge gap regarding the right intensity and amount of physical activity in secondary prevention of CVD 35, 36, 37…”

Exercise intensity and insulin sensitivity: how low can you go?

“…Compared with the continuous training protocol, the higher intensity interval training regimen induced superior responses for a number of whole body and muscle measures, including insulin sensitivity (determined from the HOMA index), : V O 2max , skeletal muscle markers of mitochondrial biogenesis and insulin signalling, as well as endothelial function. This same group has also reported that intense interval training is superior to continuous moderate intensity training for inducing specific health-related benefits in obese individuals [33] and patients with heart failure [34], and the general conclusion given by the authors is that high-intensity exercise training programmes may yield more favourable results than programmes employing low-to moderate-intensity exercise.…”