Is high-intensity interval training as efficient as moderate-intensity training in reversing the adverse effects of diabetic cardiomyopathy?

Abstract

Cardiovascular disorders, such as diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetes patients. Exercise training can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, yet, it is not known which type of exercise training is most potent in reaching this goal. Therefore, a study was set up to verify whether high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is efficient as moderate-intensity interval training (MIT) in reducing the adverse effects occurring in DCM. 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sedentary control, sedentary diabetic, MIT diabetic and HIIT diabetic. T2DM was induced by a high-sugar diet for 18 weeks where after the rats performed treadmill running for 5 days/week for a period of 12 weeks. In the current study, we show exercise training leads to a reduction in the level of left ventricular fibrosis and hypertrophy, inflammation, end-diastolic pressure, body weight, plasma triglycerides, and free fatty acids. Both MIT and HIIT show promising results which could lead to the use of exercise training as a treatment and/or prevention method for DCM, thereby significantly reducing morbidity and mortality in the T2DM patient population. We conclude that only a slight difference in exercise-induced effects was observed between both training modalities. Therefore, more research is needed to further determine the advantages of both training modalities in the treatment or prevention of DCM.