[Effects of exercise training on restoration of residual myocardial ischemia after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty].

The effects of exercise training on the restoration of hibernating myocardium after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) were evaluated. Symptom-limited treadmill exercise with thallium-201 myocardial single photon emission CT (SPECT) was performed at one and 13 weeks after PTCA in 15 patients with training and in 15 control patients without training who had no restenosis on repeat angiography. For quantitative analysis, counts for the regions of interest (ROI) were calculated in the hypoperfused area on the polar map. Percent T1 uptake was determined by dividing counts of the hypoperfused area by counts of a normal reference area on the initial image (%IU) and delayed image (%DU). The difference between %DU and %IU, defined as percent redistribution (%RD), was a parameter of residual ischemia in the hypoperfused area. %DU increased significantly in the trained group (65 +/- 11 to 73 +/- 9.3%, p < 0.01) and in the untrained group (66 +/- 14 to 70 +/- 15%, p < 0.05). %RD decreased significantly in the trained group (6.3 +/- 3.2 to 2.8 +/- 2.3%, p < 0.01); whereas, there was no significant change in the untrained group (6.1 +/- 2.8 to 5.2 +/- 3.8%). These findings suggest that, after successful PTCA, exercise training helps alleviate myocardial ischemia, probably by fostering the promoting effects which restore the hibernating myocardium.