Early hemodynamic adaptations to physical training in patients with healed myocardial infarction

Seven patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) but no angina pectoris had hemodynamic studies at rest and during submaximal and maximal exercise levels 2 mth after an acute uncomplicated myocardial infarction. The hemodynamic study was repeated after 3 mth of regular physical training. Maximal oxygen intake (VO2max) increased by 16.1% after physical training while maximal heart rate unsignificantly decreased (minus 3.3%). Higher VO2max after training resulted from an increase in maximal cardiac output (+7%) and stroke volume (+9.2%) and from a widening of the maximal arterio-venous oxygen (A-VO2) difference (+7.3%). The fall in stroke volume observed from submaximal to maximal exercise level was not affected by training. During submaximal exercise, the lower heart rate after training was attended by both a greater stroke volume and a wider A-VO2 difference; the cardiac output slightly decreased. We conclude that the increase in VO2max observed with early physical training in CHD results on one hand from an increased stroke volume whose specificity is not established, and on the other hand from a wider maximal A-VO2 difference; the latter is entirely due to a greater extraction of oxygen from the blood by the working muscles during maximal exercise.