Resistance training is an important component of cardiac rehabilitation; however, there are concerns about orthopedic and hemodynamic complications. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effects of resistance training on muscle strength and hemodynamic response in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods: We evaluated 19 patients (p), males, clinically stables with medical treatment, mean age 57.2 +/- 9.2 years, with documented CHD. The subjects were included after 2 weeks' aerobic training in treadmill and/or cycle ergometer, muscular conditioning, flexibility, and light dumbbells activities. All of them, developed one repetition maximum (1RM) for each muscle group: bench press supine (P), latissimus dorsi pull-down (D), standing biceps curl (B) and quadriceps extension (C) seated. We measured peak heart rate (HR) through a Polar heart rate monitor for all the exercises and blood pressure with an esfigmomanometer immediately after maximal voluntary contraction in C. They were reevaluated having finished 3 months' training with an exercise intensity of 30% to 60% of 1RM, depending of functional capacity in stress testing. Student's t test for paired samples was used.

Results: All patients completed the weightlifting exercises without dysnea and/or chest pain, increasing their muscle strength in P 34.34%, D 15.51%, B 16.75% and C 18.72%. These values were statistically significance (P < .05), in comparison to hemodinamic variables: heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (NS).

Conclusion: Resistance training has demonstrated to be safe, using appropriated workloads, improving upper and lower body strength with an adequate cardiovascular response.