Effects of physical exercises on the ventricular myocardium

ABSTRACT

It is known that people who exercise regularly are less likely to develop heart diseases such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia decreasing the occurrence of atherosclerosis and its complications heart failure, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. In the presence of physical exercises, the myocardium adjusts to the work loads metabolically and mechanically. There are two kinds of physical exercises aerobic exercise and strength exercise or resistance training. Nowadays, strength exercises have become very popular due to several different reasons. Strength exercises are those performed against a specific opposing gradual resistance to muscular contraction such as weights. According to the literature, both types of exercises have effects on different body tissues. In the present work, a literature review, including scientific articles since 1980, on the effects of aerobic and strength exercises on the ventricular myocardium was conducted. The low and high-intensity strength exercises have different effects, but none of them causes major effects on the cardiovascular function chronically. The most evident alteration of the myocardium subjected to strength exercises is the increase in the cross-sectional area of the cardiac myocytes leading to myocardial hypertrophy.