Effect of exercise training on myocardial remodeling in patients with reduced left ventricular function after myocardial infarction : Application of magnetic resonance imaging

There are conflicting reports on the effects of training on the remodeling process in post-myocardial infarction patients with ventricular damage. Twenty-five patients with reduced ventricular function (mean ejection fraction, 32.3+/-6%) after an anteroseptal or inferolateral myocardial infarction were randomized to an exercise group (n=12) or a control group (n=13). Patients in the exercise group resided in a rehabilitation center for 2 months and underwent a training program consisting of two 1-hour sessions of walking daily, along with four monitored 45-minute sessions of stationary cycling weekly. Before and after the study period, maximal exercise testing and cardiac MRI were performed. Oxygen uptake increased 26% at maximal exercise (19.7+/-3 to 23.9+/-5, P