Aim: Rate- pressure product (RPP) is an indirect index of myocardial oxygen consumption of patients with coronary artery disease. Effects of aerobic continuous and interval exercise training on RPP in patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was examined in this study.
Methods: Thirty male patients after CABG surgery were divided into aerobic continuous (AC) training (N.=11), aerobic interval (AI) training (N.=11) and control (C) (N.=8) group. AC training included 30-60 minutes at 70-85% of peak heart rate and AI training lasted 28 to 45 minutes (3 intervals for 9-15 min) at 75-90% of peak heart rate. Exercise training program was performed 3 day/week for 8 weeks. Paired t-test was used for analyzing data.
Results: A significant decrease in resting and maximal RPP and RPP at 3th, 6th and 9th minutes of exercise was found in AC and AI training vs. control group (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in RPP at 1th, 2th and 3th minutes of recovery in 2 training groups (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Both high intensity AC and AI training program are effective on RPP in patients after CABG surgery and enhance efficiency of myocardium and its metabolic demands, but AI training program is more effective.