Objective: To study the effects of 6 months exercise training on ventricular remodelling and autonomic tone in patients with acute myocardial infarction and percutaneous coronary intervention.
Design: Single-blinded randomized control trial.
Participants: Sixty patients with acute myocardial infarction who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention.
Methods: The exercise group followed a 6-month supervised exercise programme, while the control group received routine recommendations. All patients underwent an incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test and Doppler echocardiography at baseline and after 6 months.
Results: Three patients in the exercise group did not complete the programme. At 6 months follow-up, an improvement was seen in the exercise group compared with the control group regarding peak VO2 (p<0.01), Powermax (p<0.05), VO2 at anaerobic threshold (p<0.01), time to reach anaerobic threshold (p<0.05), heart rate recovery (p<0.01), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (p<0.01) and left ventricular ejection fraction (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Six months exercise training in patients with acute myocardial infarction and percutaneous coronary intervention with mild ventricular systolic dysfunction could prevent ventricular remodelling to a certain extent, and favourable modulating sympatho-vagal balance may be an important mechanism.