High-intensity Inspiratory Muscle Training as a Pre-cardiac Rehabilitation in Heart Disease

Background/aim: Endothelial function is closely associated with coronary artery health among individuals being treated for heart disease. An impairment in endothelial function promotes arterial stiffening that directly contributes to elevated systolic blood pressure as a result of increased vascular resistance. Inspiratory muscle training is simply a form of training consisting of repeated inspirations against resistance. Inspiratory muscle training has also been applied to patients with chronic disease or as an additional therapy for cardiac rehabilitation and it has proven to be safe in these groups. Few studies in the literature examined the effects of high-intensity inspiratory muscle training in this population, however, these studies did not examine the direct effects of inspiratory muscle training on vascular function. To the best of our knowledge, the effects of inspiratory muscle training in patients with heart disease on endothelial function and arterial stiffness prior to starting cardiac rehabilitation have not been investigated. This study aims to investigate and interpret whether high-intensity inspiratory muscle training, beyond the usual care of heart disease, improves endothelial function and arterial stiffness. Methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. Patients will be allocated for inspiratory muscle training (IMT) with 60% of maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) or sham inspiratory muscle training (Sham-control), for 4 weeks. In both groups, before and after 4-week training, cardiovascular functions will be measured and compared.