Combined High-Intensity Strength and Aerobic Training in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure

Abstract

ABSTRACT The American Heart Association, American College ofSports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Asso-ciation, and the Surgeon General support the addition ofstrength training (ST) to aerobic exercise for optimizing ex-ercise outcomes. This study evaluated an 8-week combinedhigh-intensity ST and aerobic exercise program on muscularstrength, muscle soreness or injury, and cardiovascular re-sponses in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Twenty-one men with CHF were randomly assigned to either aerobictraining (AT; n 5 7) or AT plus ST (ATST; n 5 14). Muscularstrength, cardiovascular responses, and rate of muscle sore-ness or injury to 1 repetition maximum (1RM) testing weremeasured before and after 8 weeks of training. The ATSTgroup significantly improved strength in comparison withthe AT group, with an average increase of 26%. No cardio-vascular abnormalities, muscle injury, or significant musclesoreness were observed. The addition of a high-intensity STprogram to aerobic training resulted in significant increasesin strength in stable CHF patients with no abnormal re-sponses.