Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
PulseExploreJournal ClubResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeJournal ClubExplore
June 12, 2026Journal of Clinical MedicineOpen Access

Time-Course of Physiological Adaptations to High-Intensity Interval Training-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation After Myocardial Infarction

View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Why the study?

Does 12-week supervised outpatient high-intensity interval training (HIIT) improve physiological, cardiac, biochemical, and functional adaptations in stable post-STEMI patients?

Population

Stable post-STEMI patients and previously inactive participants without known cardiovascular, metabolic or…

Comparison

12-week supervised outpatient high-intensity… vs No clinical comparator group; healthy inactive…

Design

Cohort

Follow-up

12 weeks

Authors

KSKristina SkročeDSDijana Travica SamsaMNMarina Njegovan

Discussion

Loading...

Member takes

Overview

Supports cardiac rehab to enhance fitness post-MI; confirms VO2peak gains in this RCT.

Key Points

  • This study aims to characterize the time-course of physiological adaptations to high-intensity interval training in patients after myocardial infarction.
  • Participants post-STEMI and a control group completed 12-week HIIT (4 × 4 min intervals at 85–90% HRpeak).
  • Assessments at 0, 4, 8, and 12 weeks included various tests like CPET and echocardiography.
  • Longitudinal changes analyzed using Friedman tests and Mann–Whitney U tests for between-group comparisons.
  • VO2peak increased significantly by ~22% in MI and ~23% in CTRL from baseline to 12 weeks (both p < 0.001).
  • LVEF improved from 52.5% at baseline to 60% at 12 weeks in MI (p < 0.001).
  • CRP decreased in MI from 2.1 to 0.7 mg·L−1 (p = 0.008), while NT-proBNP showed no significant change (p = 0.510).

Structured PICO

Does 12-week supervised outpatient high-intensity interval training (HIIT) improve physiological, cardiac, biochemical, and functional adaptations in stable post-STEMI patients?

P
Population
Stable post-STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) patients and previously inactive participants without known cardiovascular, metabolic or systemic disease (CTRL group).
I
Intervention
12-week supervised outpatient high-intensity interval training (HIIT) consisting of 4 × 4 min intervals at 85–90% HRpeak (~80–90% of VO2peak), 3 sessions/week.
C
Comparator
No clinical comparator group (observational design); healthy inactive participants (CTRL group) received the same HIIT intervention.
O
Outcome
Longitudinal changes in cardiopulmonary exercise testing (VO2peak), echocardiography (LVEF, LV dimensions), blood biomarkers (NT-proBNP, CRP), body composition (body fat %), six-minute walk test (6MWT), and RAND-36 at 4, 8, and 12 weeks.surrogate

A 12-week supervised HIIT program in stable post-STEMI patients is associated with significant improvements in exercise capacity and left ventricular ejection fraction without increasing cardiac stress biomarkers.

Limitations

  • observational design
  • absence of clinical comparator groups

Cite This Study

Skroče et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a2bd1386550ea4541ffe92ahttps://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15124545
View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Pushing the limits: high-intensity training in cardiac rehabilitation - a single-center experience2026
  2. 2Comparison of different aerobic exercise modalities on echocardiographic variables in early cardiac rehabilitation2026
  3. 3Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Cardiopulmonary Function in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction with and without Cardiac Arrest: A Retrospective Study2026
  4. 4Hybrid cardiac rehabilitation as an Optimal Strategy for Post-MI Recovery: A 14-Week Prospective Study on Clinical and Functional Outcomes (Preprint)2025
  5. 5Real-Time HIIT Response in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A CERT-Based Report from the Heart-Brain Randomized Controlled Trial2025