Voluntary exercise delays heart failure onset in rats with pulmonary artery hypertension

Increased physical activity is recommended for the general population and for patients with many diseases because of its health benefits but can be contraindicated if it is thought to be a risk for serious cardiovascular events. One such condition is pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). PAH and right ventricular failure was induced in rats by a single injection of monocrotaline (MCT). MCT rats with voluntary access to a running wheel ran on average 2 km/day. The time for half the animals to develop heart failure signs (median survival time) was 28 days (exercise failure group), significantly longer than sedentary animals (sedentary failure group, 23 days). The contractility of single failing myocytes in response to increasing demand (stimulation frequency) was significantly impaired compared with that in both sedentary control and exercising control myocytes. However, myocytes from exercising MCT rats, tested at 23 days (exercise + MCT group), showed responses intermediate to the control (sedentary control and exercising control) and failing (sedentary failure and exercise failure) groups. We conclude that voluntary exercise is beneficial to rats with heart failure induced by PAH, and this is evidence to support the consideration of appropriate exercise regimes for potentially vulnerable groups.