Shirin Heidarpour - Department of Exercise Physiology, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
Mehran Ghahramani - Department of Exercise Physiology, Gilan-E-Gharb Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gilan-E-Gharb, Iran
Sedigheh Hosseinpour Delavar - Department of Exercise Physiology, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran

Background and Objective: Vascular obstruction and impaired blood flow and oxygen delivery cause a myocardial infarction and limit a personchr('39')s function. Therefore, finding a way to create new arteries and replace blocked arteries has always been of interest to researchers, including exercise physiologists. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of eight weeks of moderate-intensity endurance training on the capillary density of the myocardium and ejection fraction and left ventricular shortening fraction in male rats with myocardial infarction. Material and Methods: 16 ten-week-old male wistar rats with mean weight of 250-300gr were allocated to two groups of experimental (60 minutes of interval treadmill running for four minutes at an intensity of 65-70% VO2max and two minutes of active rest at 50-60 percent of VO2max for 5 days a week for 8 weeks) and control group (without any training). Immunohistochemistry was used to measure the capillary density of the myocardium. Ejection fraction and left ventricular shortening fraction were measured by Doppler echocardiography. Data were analyzed in SPSS18 using independent samples t test (α≤ 0.05). Results: The findings showed that there was a significant increase in the capillary density of the myocardium (p=0.000), ejection fraction (P = 0.001) and left ventricular shortening fraction (P = 0.001) in the experimental group as compared with the control group. Conclusion: In general, eight weeks of moderate-intensity endurance training can effectively increase angiogenesis in male Wistar rats after MI. 

Capillary density, Myocardial Infarction, Endurance Training