Low-Intensity Resistance Exercise in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Narrative Review of Mechanistic Evidence and Clinical Implications.

ABSTRACT: Cardiac rehabilitation, a multi-component intervention designed to mitigate the impact of cardiovascular disease, often underutilises low-intensity resistance exercise despite its potential benefits. This narrative review critically examines the mechanistic and clinical evidence supporting the incorporation of low-intensity resistance exercise into cardiac rehabilitation programmes. Research indicates that low-intensity resistance exercise induces hypertrophic adaptations by maximising muscle fibre activation through the size principle, effectively recruiting larger motor units as it approaches maximal effort. This activation promotes adaptation in both type I and II muscle fibres, resulting in comparable increases in myofibrillar protein synthesis and phosphorylation of key signalling pro

SUBMITTER: Jansen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11642833 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature