en Blood and Immune System Blood and Immune System Experimental research article Experimental research article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>Introduction: </strong>Western diet (WD) activates inflammatory pathways in the myocardium, where jeopardizes contractile function. This study aimed to compare the anti-inflammatory effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in rats fed a WD.<br /> <strong>Methods:</strong> Wistar rats were assigned to the six groups: normal diet (ND)+HIIT, WD+HIIT, ND+MICT, WD+MICT, sedentary fed a ND or WD (SED+ND and SED+WD, respectively). HIIT and MICT were performed on a motorized treadmill, five consecutive days/week for 12 weeks. In these animals, visceral fat mass and myocardial expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines i.e. tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-&alpha;) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured. Western blotting was performed to identify cardiac protein expression.<br /> <strong>Results:</strong> WD+SED significantly increased visceral fat mass compared with ND+SED. WD+SED significantly resulted in TNF-&alpha; over-expression compared with ND+SED. There were no significant differences in MPO expression between WD+SED and ND+SED. In trained groups, visceral fat mass and TNF-&alpha; expression were lower in WD+HIIT and WD+MICT compared with WD+SED, with similar effects between HIIT and MICT modes. MPO expression was significantly lower in ND+HIIT and ND+MICT compared with ND+SED, with similar effects between HIIT and MICT modes.<br /> <strong>Conclusion: </strong>WD co-existing with SED paves the way to a pro-inflammatory milieu in the heart. HIIT and MICT exert similar anti-inflammatory effects on the myocardium; therefore, aerobic training, regardless of modality or intensity, can be a practical solution for those who regularly consume WD.</span></span></div> Cardiac inflammation, Exercise training, Obesity, Western diet 306 313 http://ppj.phypha.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1512-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Abdulbaset Maroofi 3200319475328460036731 3200319475328460036731 No Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran Arsalan Damirchi damirchi@guilan.ac.ir 3200319475328460036732 3200319475328460036732 Yes Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran