Exercise Improves Heart Function after Myocardial Infarction: The Merits of AMPK

AMPK is considered an important protein signaling pathway that has been shown to exert prominent cardioprotective effects on the pathophysiological mechanisms of numerous diseases. Following myocardial infarction, severe impairment of cardiac function occurs, leading to complications such as heart failure and arrhythmia. Therefore, protecting the heart and improving cardiac function are important therapeutic goals after myocardial infarction. Currently, there is substantial ongoing research on exercise-centered rehabilitation training, positioning exercise training as a significant nonpharmacological approach for preventing and treating numerous cardiovascular diseases.

Previous studies have reported that exercise can activate AMPK phosphorylation and upregulate the AMPK signaling pathway to play a cardioprotective role in coronary artery disease, but the specific mechanism involved remains to be elucidated.

This review discusses the role and mechanism of the exercise-mediated AMPK pathway in improving postinfarction cardiac function through existing studies and describes the mechanism of exercise-induced myocardial repair of AMPK from multiple perspectives to formulate a reasonable and optimal exercise rehabilitation program for the prevention and treatment of myocardial infarction patients in the clinic.