The Effect of Exercise Training on Diastolic and Systolic Function After Acute Myocardial Infarction

After acute myocardial infarction (AMI), diastolic dysfunction is frequent and an important determinant of adverse outcome. However, few interventions have proven to be effective in improving diastolic function. We aimed to determine the effect of exercise training on diastolic and systolic function after AMI.One month after AMI, 188 patients were prospectively randomized (1:1) to an 8-week supervised program of endurance and resistance exercise training (n = 86; 55.9 ± 10.8 years) versus standard of care (n = 89; 55.4 ± 10.3 years). All patients were submitted to detailed echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise test, at baseline and immediately after the study. Diastolic function was evaluated by the determination of tissue-Doppler derived early diastolic velocities (E' velocity at the septal and lateral sides of mitral annulus) and by the E/E' (ratio between the E wave velocity from mitral inflow and the E' velocity) as recommended in the consensus document for diastolic function assessment.At the end of the study, there was no significant change in E' septal velocity or E/E' septal ratio in the exercise group. We observed a small, although nonsignificant, improvement in E' lateral (mean change 0.1 ± 2.0 cm/s; P = 0.40) and E/E' lateral ratio (mean change of -0.3 ± 2.5; P = 0.24), while patients in the control group had a nonsignificant reduction in E' lateral (mean change -0.4 ± 1.9 cm/s; P = 0.09) and an increase in E/E' lateral ratio (mean change + 0.3 ± 3.3; P = 0.34). No relevant changes occurred in other diastolic parameters. The exercise-training program also did not improve systolic function (either tissue Doppler systolic velocities or ejection fraction).Exercise capacity improved only in the exercise-training group, with an increase of 1.6 mL/kg/min in pVO2 (P = 0.001) and of 1.9 mL/kg/min in VO2 at anaerobic threshold (P < 0.001).After AMI, an 8-week endurance plus resistance exercise-training program did not significantly improve diastolic or systolic function, although it was associated with an improvement in exercise capacity parameters.