High-intensity Exercise After Acute Cardiac Event (HITCARE)

Despite the well-known health benefits of physical exercise in the prevention of chronic diseases, less attention has been focused on the use of physical exercise as an essential part of good treatment for chronic disease. The aims of the study are to investigate the feasibility, medical effects, cost-effectiveness, and social perspectives of the individualized exercise-based rehabilitation \[2 different high-intensity training (HIT) protocols combined with usual care (UC)\] after acute coronary artery disease (CAD) event. The medical aim is to study mediating mechanisms of the physiological, biochemical and molecular effects of exercise training on the clinical outcomes. The aim of the health-economic evaluation is to assess the changes in the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and health care related costs for estimating the cost-effectiveness of HIT-based exercise rehabilitation. The purpose of the sociological analysis is to find out the social processes which make possible the emergence of the desired welfare effects.