Effect of an 8‑Week Endurance Rehabilitation Exercise on Apoptosis in Cardiac Patients

Aims: Exercise training is one of the nonpharmacological treatments for heart diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8‑week endurance rehabilitation training on apoptosis among cardiac patients. Subjects and Methods: Sixteen postcoronary artery bypass grafting patients, having examined by specialists, were randomly assigned to control (n = 8) and experimental groups (n = 8). The experimental group completed a training protocol including running on a treadmill at 55%–70% of their maximum heart rate for 8 weeks. Blood sampling was performed after 12–14 h of fasting and before and after the 8‑weeks training to measure biochemical variables. The measurement of Bax and B‑cell lymphoma‑2 (Bcl‑2) was conducted using the ELISA kit. The data analysis was carried out using the independent sample t‑test at P ≤ 0.05. Results: The results showed a significant difference between the participants’ mean Bax (P = 0.011) and Bcl‑2 (P = 0.015) values after the intervention for both the groups. Likewise, the difference between the ratios of Bcl‑2/Bax values after the intervention was significant for both the groups (P = 0.023). Conclusions: According to the findings of the study, it seems that the endurance rehabilitation training exercises could have a protective effect against apoptosis.