Chronic exercise leads to antiaggregant, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in heart failure patients

BackgroundHeart failure (HF) patients are at an increased risk of thrombotic events. Here, we investigated the effects of exercise training on platelet function and factors involved in its modulation in HF.Design and methodsThirty HF patients were randomized to 6 months of supervised exercise training or to a control group that remained sedentary. Exercise training consisted of 30 min of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise, followed by resistance and stretching exercises, performed three times a week. Blood was collected before and after the intervention for platelet and plasma obtainment.ResultsPeak VO2 increased after exercise training (18.0 ± 2.2 vs. 23.8 ± 0.5 mlO2/kg/min; p < 0.05). Exercise training reduced platelet aggregation induced by both collagen and ADP (approximately –6%; p < 0.05), as well as platelet nitric oxide synthase activity (0.318 ± 0.030 vs. 0.250 ± 0.016 pmol/108 cells; p < 0.05). No difference in the above-mentioned variables were observed in the control group. No significant d...