The presence of a well-developed collateral circulation in the area of the artery responsible for the infarction improves the prognosis of patients and leads to a smaller area of infarction. One of the factors influencing the formation of collateral circulation is hypoxia, which induces angiogenesis and arteriogenesis, which in turn cause the formation of new vessels. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of endurance training conducted under normobaric hypoxia in patients after myocardial infarction at the level of exercise tolerance and hemodynamic parameters of the left ventricle. Thirty-five patients aged 43–74 (60.48 ± 4.36) years who underwent angioplasty with stent implantation were examined. The program included 21 training units lasting about 90 min. A statistically significant improvement in exercise tolerance assessed with the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) was observed: test duration (p < 0.001), distance covered (p < 0.001), HRmax (p = 0.039), maximal systolic blood pressure (SBPmax) (p = 0.044), peak minute ventilation (VE) (p = 0.004) and breathing frequency (BF) (p = 0.044). Favorable changes in left ventricular hemodynamic parameters were found for left ventricular end-diastolic dimension LVEDD (p = 0.002), left ventricular end-systolic dimension LVESD (p = 0.015), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p = 0.021), lateral e’ (p < 0.001), septal e’ (p = 0.001), and E/A (p = 0.047). Endurance training conducted in hypoxic conditions has a positive effect on exercise tolerance and the hemodynamic indicators of the left ventricle.

Background/Objective: Attention should be paid to the introduction of more functional training methods during the second stage of cardiac rehabilitation, which imitate everyday activities to some extent. The main purpose of this research was to analyze the effects of a 22-day training program carried out in normobaric hypoxic conditions corresponding to the altitude of 3000 m a.s.l. in patients after myocardial infarction and to compare it with the same training conducted in normoxic conditions. Material and Methods: This study included 36 patients after myocardial infarction who underwent percutaneous angioplasty with stent implantation. They were examined before and after 2 days of training sessions: day one, spiroergometric exercise test on a mechanical treadmill, blood collection for laboratory tests; day two, echocardiography of the heart. Than patients underwent 22 days of training in hypoxic conditions. At the end of experiment patients had the same examinations as day one and two. Results: Training conducted in hypoxic conditions had a wider impact on spiroergometrical parameters. Significant, beneficial changes were demonstrated in relation to test duration, distance covered, energy expenditure MET, respiratory exchange ratio RER, as well as resting values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. There were no changes in parameters for morphology, cytokines, and fibrinogen. There were some differences in relation to echocardiography examinations. Conclusions: The conditions in which the rehabilitation training was conducted affect the level of exercise tolerance. The hypoxic conditions in which the training was conducted affected only two hemodynamic parameters: LVESd and e’ septal. Rehabilitation training conducted in various environmental conditions had an impact only on the IL-10 value.