Cardiovascular System: Changes with Exercise Training and Muscle Stimulation

Abstract

This chapter explains the function of the heart, regulation of blood pressure and blood flow and the importance of endothelial vessel lining in the normal adult organism. It also shows the importance of capillary supply in the function of skeletal and heart muscle and the effect of training and skeletal muscle electrical stimulation on these parameters. Many of these functions are changed in aging, hypertension, heart failure, peripheral vascular diseases, muscle immobilisation and denervation, spinal cord injuries and healing wounds. The beneficial effect of exercise training and muscle stimulation on the cardiovascular system in these diseased states are explained and compared.