Exercise training and other strategies for cardioprotection

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are no. 1 killer in the western world. We shall present here our results showing that moderate intensity aerobic training, resembling that suggested to humans willing to maintain cardiovascular fitness, significantly reduces by 22% the infarct size. Higher intensity aerobic training, resembling that adopted by humans practicing sport at amateur level, reduces the infarct size by 54%. Systemic increase of oxidative stress markers, such as plasma protein carbonylation and MDA, leads to the upregulation of cardioprotective proteins and antioxidant enzymes. Myocardial capillary network is increased and a number of parameters link aerobic exercise training to reduced LDL-cholesterol and to a more balanced membrane lipid composition. Preliminary experiments show that also a protocol of intermittent hypoxia may lead to cardioprotection, a result that could be exploited in a clinical context for cardiopathic patients that cannot afford exercise training.