Left ventricular systolic function is improved in well‐healed burn survivors after six months of exercise training

Abstract

Recent studies have identified that well‐healed burn survivors have altered resting cardiac responses that persist years after the initial burn injury. In healthy non‐burned individuals, prolonged exercise leads to beneficial cardiac remodeling and improved cardiac function. However, it is unknown whether burn survivors likewise demonstrate beneficial cardiac adaptations to long‐term aerobic exercise training. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that six months of aerobic exercise training improves left ventricular systolic function in well‐healed burn survivors. Eleven participants (8 males; aged 43 ± 13 years) with well‐healed burn injuries covering an average total body surface area of 53 ± 25% (range: 22–88%), participated in a progressive 6‐month aerobic‐focused exercise training regimen. An index of cardiac systolic function was assessed via speckle tracking analysis to measure local longitudinal peak systolic strain (Tomtec software) at rest, prior to and after the 6‐month aerobic‐focused exercise training regimen. Exercise training improved resting left ventricular longitudinal systolic strain (Pre, −13.6 ± 2.9% vs. Post, −16.3 ± 2.9%, P=0.013). These data show that despite impaired resting cardiac responses that persist well past complete recovery, cardiovascular adaptations to long‐term aerobic exercise training can be obtained in well‐healed burned subjects.Support or Funding InformationWork funded by NIH GM068865This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.