Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2018; 110(4): 381-382

High-Intensity Interval Training for Early Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction – A Promising Approach for Rats, but what about Human Beings?

Ricardo Stein

DOI: 10.5935/abc.20180068

This Short Editorial is referred by the Research article "Impact of a High-Intensity Training on Ventricular Function in Rats After Acute Myocardial Infarction".

Acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), in particularly, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), kill or debilitate a large number of patients in the world. Despite the fact that not all patients develop ventricular dysfunction after the event, there is still a high prevalence of post-AMI heart failure,^, which is considered a public health problem. Although the management of post-ACS is based on a wide range of drugs, usually associated with the revascularization procedure, different non-pharmacological strategies have been shown useful. In this regard, physical exercise is indicated, including cardiac rehabilitation programs that usually combine aerobic and resistance training with stretching exercises.

Nevertheless, there is no single recipe for prescribing exercise after an acute coronary event. In my opinion, cardiologists should formally prescribe physical exercise in addition to cardiovascular drugs, considering aspects such as dosage, intervals, intensity and potential side effects. With respect to physical training, a vast of different exercise modalities have emerged and applied in health. Pilates, Tai Chi Chuan, functional training, crossfit, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) among others have spread across gyms and physical centers over the country and have been practiced primarily by apparently healthy individuals. As time passed, animal experiments and clinical studies on cardiovascular disease patients have been conducted.^– HIIT was first proposed to Japanese Olympic skaters by Izumi Tabata. Today, HIIT consists in sessions of one to four-minute of high-intensity submaximal load alternating with low-to-moderate intensity exercises. Randomized clinical trials involving small samples have suggested a superiority of the method in increasing peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak) as compared with conventional continuous training. Due to its peculiarities and results, HIIT has boomed all over the world; however, international literature showing the impact of the method in ischemic heart disease patients, particularly in post-AMI patients is still lacking.^,,

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