The Combined Effect of Endurance Training and Various Doses of Atorvastatin on Cardiac Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction in Male Rats

Statins and exercise have beneficial effects in preventing cardiovascular diseases. However, prolonged use of statins particularly at high doses has unpleasant side effects. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of endurance training and three doses of Atorvastatin on cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction in male rats. 75 male wistar rats (weighing 210-250g) were randomly divided to 9 groups. Sham, control, endurance training, Atorvastatin (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg), and exercise plus Atorvastatin (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg): Myocardial infarction was induced by subcutaneous injection of isoprenaline (150 mg/kg) in two consecutive days. Drug and training intervention was initiated 2 days after infarction and continued for 4 weeks. In order to assess the necrosis lesion and fibrosis tissue, hematoxylin & eosin and masson trichrome staining were used respectively. The combination of endurance training and various doses of Atorvastatin significantly reduced the amount of necrosis and fibrosis tissue compared with the control group (P<0.01). Endurance exercise training alone did not cause significant changes in the extent of necrosis damage, but significantly increased fibrosis tissue compared with the control group (P<0.001). Various doses of Atorvastatin alone significantly reduced necrosis damage (P<0.001), but the difference between these groups and the control group in terms of fibrous tissue was statistically significant only at dose of 15 mg/kg (P<0.001). The results of this study showed that the combination of training and various doses of Atorvastatin are more effective in improving of tissue damage caused by myocardial infarction than exercise and Atorvastatin alone. However, the use of endurance training with medical therapy can not reduce the dose of Atorvastatin.