PurposeLeft atrial dysfunction has shown to play a prognostic role in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and is becoming a therapeutic target for pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The effects of exercise training on the atrial function in patients with ICM have been poorly investigated. In the present study, we assessed the effects of a 12-week combined training (CT) program on the left atrial function in patients with ICM.MethodsWe enlisted a total of 45 clinically stable patients and randomly assigned them to one of the following three groups: 15 to a supervised CT with low-frequency sessions (twice per week) (CTLF); 15 to a supervised CT with high-frequency sessions (thrice per week) (CTHF); and 15 to a control group following contemporary preventive exercise guidelines at home. At baseline and 12 weeks, all patients underwent a symptom-limited exercise test and echocardiography. The training included aerobic continuous exercise and resistance exercise. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare within- and inter-group changes.ResultsAt 12 weeks, the CTLF and CTHF groups showed a similar increase in the duration of the ergometric test compared with the control (ANOVA p
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