Photobiomodulation Combined with Moderate or High-Intensity Interval Training on Oxygen Consumption and Exercise...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Rehabilitation
• Exercise Physiology
• Photomedicine

Background:

• Aerobic training (AT) is a cornerstone of cardiovascular rehabilitation for heart failure (HF) patients.
• Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) shows promise for enhancing athletic performance, but its efficacy in HF populations is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if combining PBMT with moderate- or high-intensity AT improves cardiopulmonary exercise capacity in individuals with HF.

Main Methods:

• A nonrandomized clinical trial involving 49 HF patients (ejection fraction < 40%) across five groups: moderate AT alone, moderate AT + PBMT, high-intensity AT alone, high-intensity AT + PBMT, and a control group.
• A 10-week intervention period followed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing to evaluate VO2peak, ventilatory efficiency, and exercise tolerance.
• Statistical analysis using Generalized Estimating Equations with a significance level of p < 0.05.

Main Results:

• All training groups showed improvements in exercise speed and grade, with high-intensity AT yielding the most significant gains.
• The high-intensity AT group exhibited a notable increase in oxygen consumption (1.80 ml.kg-1.min-1, p = 0.002) and enhanced time to exhaustion.
• No significant additional benefits were observed when PBMT was combined with either moderate or high-intensity AT.

Conclusions:

• High-intensity aerobic training is effective in improving exercise performance for patients with heart failure.
• The addition of PBMT, as applied in this study, did not enhance the benefits of AT in HF patients.
• Further research with optimized PBMT protocols is recommended to explore its potential in HF rehabilitation.