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Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Notwithstanding the well-known benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), adherence to CR remains low, particularly in women. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has received specific attention as an emerging exercise-training paradigm that addresses frequently cited barriers to CR (i.e. lack of motivation/enjoyment and time, perceiving exercise regime as tiring/boring) and improves cardiovascular risk factors. Previous studies have examined the safety of HIIT in CR; there is little evidence on the feasibility of HIIT in CR. The aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of HIIT within a CR setting and examine the sex differences regarding the feasibility of such programming. Methods: Patients attended an on-site HIIT CR program (10-min warm-up, 25 min of interspersed high-intensity [HI-4 min at 85-95% HRpeak] and lower intensity [LO-3 min at 60-70% HRpeak] intervals, 10-min cool-down) twice weekly for 10 weeks. Heart rate (HR) and the Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale (6-20 points) were recorded at each session. Feasibility was assessed by: [1] attendance and compliance: the number of sessions attended and the compliance to the prescribed HI and LO HR ranges; [2] the patient experience: patients' perceived effort, program difficulty, if the program was challenging and satisfying; and, [3] safety. Descriptive statistics were used to report the means and their variations. Mann-Whitney U tests and Chi-square analyses were performed to examine sex-differences.

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Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Estimated peak oxygen uptake ( ) using 6-min Walk Test distance demonstrated poor agreement with measured from a cardiopulmonary exercise test in patients with heart failure enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation.

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