Clinical benefits of the addition of lower extremity low-intensity resistance muscle training during early aerobic endurance training intervention in coronary artery disease patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Objectives: Muscle resistance training is often combined with aerobic endurance training during rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery disease. However, the clinical effects of additional lower-extremity low-intensity muscle resistance training during early rehabilitation (within the first month after coronary revascularization) in patients with coronary artery disease remain unclear. Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Sixty patients with coronary artery disease. Methods: Subjects were randomly assigned to early aerobic endurance training (n=30). Subjects performed 18 (standard deviation 2) exercise sessions (at 65% VO2 peak), for 40mins/session. In resistance muscle training, additional low-intensity (12-20 repetition maximum) resistance muscle exercises were performed. The following parameters were evaluated: exercise capacity, body composition, blood lipid profile, glycaemic control, blood endothelial progenitor cell and cytokine content, and muscle performance. Results: A total of 47 patients with coronary artery disease completed the intervention. Total body lean tissue mass tended to increase with greater magnitude (p=0.07) and blood high-density lipid cholesterol content increased with significantly greater magnitude in resistance muscle training (p < 0.05), compared with aerobic endurance training. Maximal exercise capacity, ventilatory treshold, and muscle performance increased, and steady-state exercise respiratory exchange ratio, and adipose tissue mass reduced significantly (p <0.05), without differences between groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In early aerobic endurance training intervention in patients with coronary artery disease, additional low-intensity resistance muscle training contributes to a greater increase in blood high-density lipid cholesterol content, and tends to affect lean tissue mass.