Health Promotion in Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients through the Use of a High-Intensity Interval Training Protocol

According to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) recent statistical update, over 2150 Americans die each day from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which equals approximately 1 death every 40 seconds; many of which were under the age of 65 years old [1]. In 2009, 386,324 people, 1 in 6 Americans, died as a result of coronary artery disease (CAD) alone [1]. They also estimate 150,000 people have “silent” heart attacks each year [1]. Even though the number of cardiovascular disease deaths has declined in the last 10 years, they still accounted for 32.3% of American deaths [1]. As a result, the AHA updated their 2020 goals to improve the nation’s cardiovascular health by 20% [1]. One of these methods is through the use of cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a health promotion strategy to help return cardiac patients to their previous level of functioning, increase health, decrease comorbidities and promote education and lifestyle change. For select patients, another alternative exercise plan may exist to gain even better results. High intensity interval training (HIIT) has shown positive training results for athletes and many studies show that it may also be an effective exercise modality for many cardiac patients instead of the traditional circuit training method. This article will review current literature on the effects of HIIT on CR patients as well as a sample HIIT protocol for instituting this treatment with appropriate patients.