“Exercise Training in Adverse Cardiac Remodeling”
Dirk
J.
Duncker,
PhD
Professor
of
Experimental
Cardiology
at
Erasmus
University,
Netherlands
Abstract:
Cardiac remodeling in response to a myocardial infarction or chronic pressure-overload is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure. In contrast, cardiac remodeling produced by regular physical exercise is associated with a decreased risk for heart failure. There is evidence that exercise training has a beneficial effect on disease progression and survival in patients with cardiac remodeling and dysfunction, but concern has also been expressed that exercise training may aggravate pathological remodeling and dysfunction. In my talk I will present the results of studies from our laboratory investigating the effects of exercise training on pathological cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in mice, and the mechanisms underlying the divergent effects of physical exercise training in different pathologies.