Effect of isometric exercise on endothelial function in people with coronary heart disease

Aim: the paper aims to identify the effect of isometric exercise on endothelial function in people with coronary heart disease. Materials and methods. The study involved 20 patients with coronary heart disease, randomly distributed between the control (traditional strength training) and experimental groups (isometric exercise, HUBER 360). Subjects underwent a complete blinded evaluation before and after the rehabilitation program. An Endo PATTM2000 Device (Itamar Medical Ltd.) was used to measure the reactive hyperemia index (RHI) before and after rehabilitation. Results. The EG had significantly better endothelial function (pre - 0.89 ± 0.31; post - 1.02 ± 0.3, p = 0.039) than the CG (pre - 0.81 ± 0.3; post - 0.83 ± 0.32, p = 0.057) after 4 weeks of rehabilitation (12 sessions), p ≤ 0.05. Conclusion. Both recovery programs have proven to be effective. The exercises performed on the HUBER 360 can be implemented in recovery programs for people with coronary heart disease.