A Multicentre Trial on the Effectiveness of Physical Rehabilitation of Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: Aerobic Interval Training Versus Moderate Continuous Training.

Inclusion Criteria: * patients with CAD (post-PCI, post-MI, post-CABG) and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \> 40% * the presence of CAD is defined as prior angiographically documented stenotic lesion(s) of \> 75%, or documented myocardial infarction (biochemical, ECG, echocardiographic documentation). * patients are on optimal medical treatment and stable with regard to symptoms and pharmacotherapy for at least 4 weeks * in practice, patients will have been hospitalized at least 4 weeks prior to participation in the training programme because of PCI, MI or CABG Exclusion Criteria: * significant intercurrent illness last 6 weeks * known severe ventricular arrhythmia with functional or prognostic significance * significant myocardial ischemia, hemodynamic deterioration or exercise-induced arrhythmia at baseline testing * recent CABG (\< 30 days) * other heart disease that limits exercise tolerance (valve disease with significant hemodynamic consequences, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy etc.) * co-morbidity that may significantly influence one-year prognosis * functional or mental disability that may limit exercise * a habit of regular vigorous exercise or participation in a programme of exercise training less than 3 months before inclusion * acute or chronic inflammatory diseases or malignancy, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs or immune suppression * glomerular filtration rate (GFR) \<25ml/min/1.73m2 * hemoglobin \< 10g/dl * severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease * participation in another clinical trial