Exercise as a Therapeutic Strategy for Reprogramming the Immune Response in Cardiovascular Disease Progression

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of illness and death worldwide. It includes various disorders such as myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, and heart failure, all of which are associated with chronic inflammation. Regular physical activity is essential for maintaining or improving cardiovascular health during CVD, primarily by reducing systemic inflammation. However, the effects of exercise—especially moderate to high-intensity training—on different cardiac diseases raise questions about its dual role as both a beneficial and potentially harmful factor. For example, for some cardiovascular diseases such as myocarditis, current guidelines recommend complete abstinence from physical exercise for 3-6 months. Despite substantial research on this topic, the exact immunological mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding how exercise reprograms immune cells could lead to new therapeutic strategies for managing CVD.

This research topic aims to investigate the mechanistic link between exercise and immune cell reprogramming, exploring how physical activity alters immune cell phenotypes to help mitigate the progression of cardiovascular disease.

The specific objectives of this research topic are:
• To investigate the effects of exercise on immune cell phenotypes in individuals with CVD.
• To elucidate molecular and cellular pathways by which exercise performed at different intensities and stages of the disease modulates the inflammatory response.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of exercise in combination with canonical drugs to modulate the immune response thus reducing CVD risk and progression.
• To develop tailored exercise programs for individuals to lower the risk of and improve outcomes for various cardiovascular diseases.

This research topic has the potential to bridge a critical knowledge gap in the fields of cardiovascular immunology and exercise science. Identifying exercise-induced modifications in immune function could lead to novel therapeutic strategies that harness the body’s natural defenses against CVD. This research will contribute to the growing field of immunometabolism and help develop targeted exercise prescriptions for individuals at risk of or currently experiencing CVD.

This research topic welcomes submissions of original research articles, reviews, systematic reviews, case reports, opinion articles, clinical trials, and study protocols.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: exercise, immune response, cardiovascular disease, immune cell reprogramming, immune cell phenotypes

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.