european college of sport science

Friday, June 26th, 2009
EFFECTS OF GROUP EXERCISE VERSUS AEROBIC INTERVAL TRAINING UPON PEAK OXYGEN UPTAKE IN MYOCARDIAL
INFARCTION PATIENTS
MOHOLDT, T., AAMOT, I.L., STØYLEN, A., STØLEN, T., GRANØIEN, I., MYKLEBUST, G., WALDERHAUG, L., GJERDE, L., HOLE, T.,
BRATTBAKK, L., GRAVEN, T., WISLØFF, U., SLØRDAHL, S.A.
NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduction: Myocardial infarction (MI) patients from Norwegian hospitals are often offered to participate in group exercise training (GET).
The effect of these rehabilitation programs is not well documented. We aimed to compare the traditional GET with treadmill interval
training (INT) regarding peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in MI patients.
Methods: This study was based on data from three hospitals in Norway. Eighty-nine MI patients referred to hospital based rehabilitation
were randomised to GET (n=59) or INT (n=30) in a 2:1 manner. Patients were recruited 2-12 weeks post MI. All patients were asked to
meet for organised exercise training two times per week for 12 weeks and to exercise once weekly on their own. VO2peak was measured
at baseline, at the end of the training period and again at a follow-up six months later. Patients randomised to GET participated in
the usual exercise training program at the hospitals. The intensity of their exercise was supervised using heart rate monitors. In the INT
group each training sessions consisted of four times four minutes intervals at 85-95% of HRpeak with lower intensity periods in between.
All patients were encouraged to maintain exercise training until follow-up testing.
Results: VO2peak increased significantly more (p = 0.006) after INT than after GET (from 31.6 (SD 5.8) to 36.2 (SD 8.6) ml/min/kg (13.8%) in
INT, and from 32.3 (SD 6.7) to 34.6 (SD 7.7) ml/min/kg (7.3%) in GET, both p