The Investigation of Aerobic Interval Training in Women with Coronary Artery Disease in Cardiac Rehabilitation

The generalizability of the potential superiority of aerobic interval training (AIT) over moderate intensity continuous exercise (MICE) in improving aerobic exercise capacity (VO2peak) remains elusive in women with coronary artery disease (CAD), as they have been underrepresented in the majority of studies to date. The overarching aim of this doctoral thesis was to optimize exercise training modalities for outpatient, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs to maximize the potential gains in quality of life, and survival. The central hypothesis was that a six-month CR program of AIT would significantly improve VO2peak more than six-months of usual care CR involving MICE, in postmenopausal women with CAD. The first of three studies sought to retrospectively determine the effectiveness of progressive AIT in the form of walk/jog intervals in individuals with CAD. Treatment effect analysis revealed a 3.84 mL·kg -1·min -1 superior improvement in VO2peak in response to AIT compared to usual care MICE (pPh.D