Abstract
The role of resistance training on collagen deposition, the inflammatory profile and muscle weakness in heart failure remains unclear. Therefore, this study evaluated the influence of a resistance training program on hemodynamic function, maximum strength gain, collagen deposition and inflammatory profile in chronic heart failure rats. Thirty-two male Wistar rats submitted to myocardial infarction by coronary artery ligation or sham surgery were assigned into four groups: sedentary sham (S-Sham, n = 8); trained sham (T-Sham, n = 8); sedentary chronic heart failure (S-CHF, n = 8) and trained chronic heart failure (T-CHF, n = 8). The maximum strength capacity was evaluated by the one maximum repetition test. Trained groups were submitted to an 8-week resistance training program (4 days/week, 4 sets of 10–12 repetitions/session, at 65% to 75% of one maximum repetition). After 8 weeks of the resistance training program, the T-CHF group showed lower left ventricular end diastolic pressure (P<0.001), higher left ventricular systolic pressure (P<0.05), higher systolic blood pressure (P<0.05), an improvement in the maximal positive derivative of ventricular pressure (P<0.05) and maximal negative derivative of ventricular pressure (P<0.05) when compared to the S-CHF group; no differences were observed when compared to Sham groups. In addition, resistance training was able to reduce myocardial hypertrophy (P<0.05), left ventricular total collagen volume fraction (P<0.01), IL-6 (P<0.05), and TNF-α/IL-10 ratio (P<0.05), as well as increasing IL-10 (P<0.05) in chronic heart failure rats when compared to the S-CHF group. Eight weeks of resistance training promotes an improvement of cardiac function, strength gain, collagen deposition and inflammatory profile in chronic heart failure rats.
Highlights
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome produced by structural and functional disorders of the heart [1]
There were no deaths or behaviors associated with stress or adverse effects in rats that participated in the resistance training (RT) program in both the sham and CHF groups
The S-Sham group had a moderate increase in absolute load when compared to S-CHF, but this difference was not significant when the load was normalized by body weight 1RM/BW (g lifted/g BW; Figure 2B), showing that only the trained groups had a significant increase in the load lifted in the last 1RM test relative to body weight
Summary
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome produced by structural and functional disorders of the heart [1]. Abnormalities in skeletal muscle probably contribute to the development of symptoms and exercise intolerance in CHF [3,4,5]. Damage to the cardiac muscle and to the extracellular matrix leads to changes in the size, shape, and function of the left ventricle, resulting in changes in the entire heart, in a process named cardiac remodeling [6], which affects prognosis and survival in patients with CHF [7]. The accumulation of collagen in places remote to myocardial infarction (MI) is the main negative component of structural remodeling in heart failure of an ischemic origin [10]
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