MedWire News: Intense, short bursts of exercise can help improve the function and structure of blood vessels, particularly those that supply blood to the heart and muscles, research shows.

The findings indicate that brief, high-intensity forms of exercise are just as beneficial for cardiovascular health as long-duration, moderately intense exercise, say Dr Maureen MacDonald and colleagues from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.

The researchers enrolled 20 healthy untrained people, aged an average of 23 years, who were assigned to endurance exercise training or high intensity interval exercise.

Participants assigned to interval exercise performed 30-second "all-out" sprints 3 days a week, while those assigned to endurance exercise cycled for 40-60 minutes at moderate intensity 5 days a week.

All the participants had their blood vessel health tested before and after exercise training.

After 6 weeks of training, the team found that the blood vessel health of participants assigned to interval training had improved to the same extant as that of participants assigned to endurance training.

"More and more, professional organisations are recommending interval training during rehabilitation from diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular disease. Our research certainly provides evidence that this type of exercise training is as effective as traditional moderate intensity training," said Dr MacDonald.

She added: "We wouldn't be surprised to see more rehabilitation programmes adopt this method of training since it is often better tolerated in diseased populations."

The research is published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.