ABSTRACT
Experimental, clinical and epidemiologic studies have provided strong evidence that physical training has beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that exercise increases coronary blood flow and myocardial perfusion. Importantly, training also can stimulate angiogenesis and accelerate collateral vessel growth in animal models with coronary artery occlusion. Cardiac adaptation such as increased vascularity or capillary density has been evidenced after regular endurance exercises. More recently, several studies indicate that physical training induces high levels of myocardial heat shock protein and antioxidant protein expression, which may play an important role in myocardial protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury.