Physical training as an effective way to protect the heart against ischaemia

Abstract

The findings from experimental animal studies show that regular physical trainings can protect via preconditioning the heart against the ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. It is not clear if the cellular mechanism is the same as in the case of ischaemic preconditioning, but the final effect is the same, i.e. a stress stimulus, in this case a repeated effort leaves the heart with the ‘memory’, which translates into an increased resistance to ischaemia. At present, the precise mechanism responsible for training-induced cardioprotection is not clear. Candidate factors responsible for this cardioprotection are numerous and include collateral circulation development, enhanced ER stress proteins, increased COX-2 activity, increased heat shock protein (HSP-72) levels, increased activity of mitoK-ATP and sarcoK-ATP channels, and increased myocardial antioxidative capacity. The studies performed so far have suggested that MnSOD activity and increased sarcoK-ATP expression did play a role in exercise-induced cardioprotection. There may exist some other mechanisms responsible for this type of cardioprotection, but finding them will be possible only through further relevant studies. The paper presents the up-to-date knowledge in this field.
Kardiol Pol 2011; 69, supl. III: 75–79