A comparison of high intensity interval training with circuit training in a short-term cardiac rehabilitation programme for patients with chronic heart failure

Louisa Beale, Robert McIntosh, Prashanth Raju, Guy Lloyd, Gary Brickley, Robert McIntosh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

High intensity interval exercise may be a more effective training method than moderateintensity exercise more commonly applied in cardiac rehabilitation. This randomisedcontrolled trial compared the effects of high intensity interval training with moderateintensity circuit training on exercise tolerance and quality of life in patients with chronic heartfailure. Twenty six patients with systolic heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction 15-40%, New York Heart Association class II-III, age 62-87 years) were randomly assigned tocircuit training (n=13) or high intensity interval training (n=13) during a 6 week cardiacrehabilitation programme. At baseline and on completion peak oxygen consumption(VO2peak), oxygen consumption at ventilatory threshold (VT), ventilatory efficiency anddisease specific quality of life were assessed. There was a significant increase in VO2peak aftertraining in the circuit group only (0.97 ml.kg-1.min-1 P=0.021). Both groups showedsignificant improvements in VT (circuit 0.55 ml.kg-1.min-1 P =0.050; interval 1.70 ml.kg-1.min-1 P =0.006) and in quality of life (circuit -7 points P=0.017; interval -5 points P=0.050).There were no significant differences between the two training methods. High intensityinterval exercise offers an alternative training mode for improving submaximal exercisetolerance and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure. However, theimprovements did not match those reported in studies using more frequent and longerduration training interventions.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Volume1
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Aug 2013

Bibliographical note

© 2013 Beale L., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Keywords

  • Cardiac rehabilitation
  • Heart failure
  • Exercise training
  • Interval training

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