Circuit Weight Versus Aerobic Training on Selected Cardiovascular Indices and Functional Capacity in Patients With Ischemic Cardiomyopathy.

Ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) is a term that refers to the heart's decreased ability to pump blood properly due to myocardial damage brought upon by ischemia. Ischemic cardiomyopathy has a spectrum of clinical changes which eventually leads to congestive heart failure (CHF). Initially, there is a reversible loss of cardiac contractile function because of decreased oxygen supply to the heart muscle; however, when there is ischemia for a prolonged period, there is irreversible cardiac muscle damage resulting in cardiac remodeling. Remodeling is primarily achieved by myocardial fibrosis which results in decreased cardiac function, arrhythmia, and possible cardiac conduction system impairment. In ischemic cardiomyopathy, there is a significant impairment of the left ventricular systolic function, with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 40% (Bhandari et al., 2021).