The effect of 6-week high intensity interval training on the VEGF/COL-18 ratio and some echocardiographic indices in rats with myocardial infarction

Introduction: Myocardial infarction (MI) is the irreversible cell death caused by ischemia in parts of myocardium. The molecular process of increased capillary density in response to activity and its appropriate intensity is not clear yet. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the effect of 6-week high intensity interval training on the VEGF/COL-18 ratio and echocardiographic indices in rats with MI.

Methods: Twelve Wistar male rats of 10 weeks old and mean weight 250-300gr were allocated to two groups of experimental (60 minutes of interval treadmill running for four minutes with the intensity of 85-90 and two minutes of active rest at 50-60 percent of VO2max for four days a week for 6 weeks) and control group (without any training). Real-time PCR was used to assess the expression of VEGF and COL-18 genes after inducing MI, and shortening fractional and ejection fraction were investigated as echocardiographic indices. Data were analyzed in SPSS18 using independent t test (α≤ 0.05).

Results: The findings showed that there was no significant increase in the VEGF/COL-18 ratio in the HIIT group (1.856 mg/ml) as compared with the control group (1.245 mg/ml) (p=0.263). A significant increase was observed in the HIIT group for SF (77.461±7.022%) and EF (41.625±6.847%) as compared with the control group (64.483±3.695%) and (31.320±3.460%), respectively (p=0.001).

Conclusion: In general, 6 weeks of high intensity interval training can effectively increase angiogenesis factors and improve myocardial function in male Wistar rats after MI.