The Effect of Exercise Training in Systolic and Diastolic Function

Physical exercise is one of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle, being associated with a reduction in cardiovascular events and total mortality. More recently, the importance of physical exercise has extended to the disease, being now considered an important therapeutic tool in several cardiovascular diseases, including the patient after myocardial infarction or with heart failure. Both in healthy individuals and in patients with heart failure or myocardial infarction, exercise can reduce cardiovascular events, improve quality of life, and increase functional capacity. These benefits can occur by changes in the heart, vessels, muscles, and lungs. The long-term effects of exercise on cardiac function can be protean. They depend on the clinical context, on the characteristics of the individual, and on the type, intensity, and duration of the exercise-training program. This chapter will provide an update on the available evidence regarding the effects of exercise training on both systolic and diastolic function in different clinical scenarios, from the healthy individual to the patient after myocardial infarction or with heart failure.