Samenvatting

Introduction: Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Physical activity and training are central in rehabilitation of patients suffering from coronary heart disease. Aerobic capacity seems to be a significant predictor of morbidity and mortality of cardiac patients overall. The aim of this study is to find out whether high intensity training superior to moderate/love intensity training in rehabilitation of patients with CAD/CHD and CHF?

Method: A literature review was conducted. The search terms, inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined prior to the search process. The online databases PubMed, Cochrane and Pedro were searched for articles that could give an answer to the research question.

Results: The search process yielded 9 RCT articles for data extraction. The total amount of patients in the studies combined was 378, 297 male and 81 female. Training intervals lasted from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. VO2max (peak) and six minute walking test were used to assess aerobic capacity of the patients. Seven of the included studies showed significant improvement of aerobic capacity after training period lasting longer than four weeks. The increase of aerobic capacity varied from 10,9% to 46% for high intensity training groups and -3% to 17,4% for low/moderate intensity groups.

Conclusion: High intensity training improves aerobic capacity more than low or moderate intensity training in stable cardiac patients.