Baseline clinical information, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), disease duration, comorbidities, medication, and LV ejection fraction (LVEF) obtained from 2D echocardiography [27 (link)], from each subject was recorded. Participants had blood sampling before the baseline CMR-LGE imaging study and then underwent a graded cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). The physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 health survey (SF-36) for quality of life (QoL) were assessed before initiating each CPET. The follow-up CMR-LGE, CPET, and blood samplings were performed within 1 week after completing 36 sessions of HIIT. Haematocrit and b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) were also measured before and after HIIT. After completing the above study, the remaining blood sample was centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 5 min at room temperature for serum preparation. A graphic depicting the experimental procedure is shown in Additional file 1.
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