Effects of Interval Training Under Hypoxia on the Autonomic Nervous System and Arterial and Hemorheological Function in Healthy Women

PURPOSE: The present study verified the effects of interval training under hypoxia, a novel exercise modality for health promotion, on the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and arterial and hemorheological function in healthy women. METHODS: Twenty healthy Korean women (age: 19–29 [24.85 ± 3.84] years) were equally assigned to interval normoxic training (INT, n = 10; residing and training under normoxia) and interval hypoxic training (IHT, n = 10; residing under normoxia and training under 526 mmHg hypobaric hypoxia) groups. All participants performed 90-min of training sessions composed of 15-min of warm-up, 60-min of interval training, and 15-min of cool-down. The interval training sessions composed of 10 repetitions of interval exercise using a treadmill (5 min of exercise corresponding to 90–95% maximal heart rate [HR] and 1 min of rest). The training was performed 3 days per week for 6 weeks. All participants underwent body composition, HR variability, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), red blood cell (RBC) deformability and aggregation, and maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2)max) measurements before and after training. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in body composition between the groups. The IHT group showed a significant improvement in the ANS function (root mean square of successive differences, high frequency, and low frequency/high frequency ratio), arterial stiffness, arterial endothelial function (FMD), hemorheological function (RBC deformability and aggregation), and aerobic performance (VO(2)max) compared with the INT (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In comparison with the interval training under normoxia, the interval training under hypoxia is a novel and effective exercise modality for promoting aerobic performance with the ANS and arterial and hemorheological function in healthy women.