Intermittent hypoxic training as a rehabilitation method for patients with cardiovascular diseases: a review

Ensuring the full restoration of the body’s functional capacity is a primary goal of medical rehabilitation. The introduction of new rehabilitation methods into clinical practice makes it possible to achieve substantial progress in the treatment and prevention of diseases. This may be associated with greater effectiveness of specific techniques, simplicity and safety of their application (which improves patient adherence), and their economic accessibility. In recent years, increasing interest has been directed toward the effects of intermittent hypoxia on the human body. The mechanisms underlying the clinically substantial effects of intermittent hypoxic training have been described at various levels, ranging from the regulation of gene expression to systemic physiological responses. Intermittent hypoxic training is a method that has found application in the prevention and treatment of a number of chronic non-communicable diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems, as well as endocrine disorders, and it also affects inflammatory and aging-related processes. Intermittent hypoxic training can be applied both at rest and during physical exercise, which enables its use in sports medicine. Over the past decade, a technique alternating periods of hypoxia and hyperoxia has been actively developed. It has been suggested that replacing normoxic periods with hyperoxic ones may increase the effectiveness of intermittent hypoxic training and reduce adverse side effects. This article presents a review of data from Russian and international scientific data concerning the mechanisms of action of intermittent hypoxic training on the human body and the possibilities of its use in cardiovascular condition.