Acute effects of resistance-type and cycling-type high-intensity interval training on arterial stiffness, cardiac autonomic modulation and cardiac biomarkers

Abstract

Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to enhance cardiovascular health. However, there is a lack of research investigating the specific cardiovascular effects of different HIIT training modes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of cycling-type high intensity interval training (C-HIIT) and resistance-type high intensity interval training (R-HIIT) on arterial stiffness, cardiac autonomic modulationand cardiac biomarkers in healthy young men. Methods: Eleven healthy active young men (ages: 21.36±2.46 years) randomly took part in both C-HIIT and R-HIIT. Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure (BP) was measured at before, immediately and 30 min after the exercise in C-HIIT and R-HIIT. Meanwhile, blood samples for cardiac troponin-T (cTnT) and amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)were assessed using ELISA at the same time points. Results: R-HIIT resulted a more significant reduction in ⊿CAVI compared to C-HIIT (P<0.05) at immediately after exercise. Both C-HIIT and R-HIIT lead to significantly higher SBP value than the baseline immediately after exercise (P<0.05). All HRV indices, including lnRMSSD and lnHF, decreased immediately (P<0.001) and 30 minutes (P<0.05) after exercise, while the LF/HF ratio increased immediately and returned to baseline after 30 minutes (P>0.05) of exercise. The cTnT and NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher than the baseline 5 minutes after exercise (P<0.05) and returned to the baseline at 35 minutes after exercise (P>0.05). Trial registration: The study was prospectively registered on 27 August 2021 at www.chictr.org.cn with identification number ChiCTR2200056897. Conclusion: Both R-HIIT and C-HIIT elicited similar acute responses in cardiac autonomic modulation and cardiac biomarkers. However, R-HIIT was found be more effective in reducing arterial stiffness in healthy young men. Furthermore, the increase in cardiac biomarkers induced by both C-HIIT and R-HIIT was reversible and did not result in pathological changes in the myocardium.