A great bulk of evidence suggests that regular exercise confers protection against cardiovascular diseases, whereas physical inactivity is a risk factor. Furthermore, it has been found that exercise capacity is a strong predictor of risk of death from any cause in both healthy subjects and in those with cardiovascular pathologies. The cardiovascular apparatus is very different between athletes and sedentary individuals from a morphological and physiological point of view. For instance, trained subjects are usually less susceptible to cardiovascular diseases than untrained individuals. Furthermore, some risk factors such as high blood pressure, impaired blood glucose regulation and high cholesterol are positively influenced by an active lifestyle.

However, the exact mechanisms by which regular exercise protects the cardiovascular apparatus is not completely understood. Exercise probably acts at various levels in the cardiovascular system. The regulation and the integration of many cardiovascular functions are modified by exercise training. For example, exercise can improve baroreflex sensitivity, blood pressure regulation, organs perfusion and vascular reactivity. Moreover, at the cellular level, exercise can modify gene expression and molecule production. Finally, exercise also exerts anti anti-inflammatory effects.

A Research Topic with approaches ranging from integrative to cell physiology may significantly contribute to shed light on the cardiovascular adjustments and adaptations to exercise and their impact to cardiovascular health.

Authors are welcome to submit original articles and reviews that seek to better characterize the effects of physical exercise on the regulation of the cardiovascular apparatus and on morphological adaptations. Contributions investigating the effect of training at the molecular and cellular level, as well as on vessel function, are also welcome.

Some potential themes of interest for this Research Topic:
• Advances in understanding of the adaptations induced by exercise on cardiac, vascular, and autonomic nervous systems.
• Advances in the physio-pathology of cardiovascular regulation during exercise and recovery.
• Animal models of cardiovascular regulation during exercise in health and disease.
• Insights into the consequences of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases on the circulatory regulation during exercise.
• Role of exercise training in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological diseases.
• The impact of sedentary and active lifestyles on the cardiovascular apparatus.
• Exercise testing and decision making in cardiovascular diseases.
• Imaging techniques to detect the effects of exercise training.

Keywords: Hemodynamics, Blood Pressure, Stroke Volume, Heart Rate, Cardiac Output, Cardiovascular

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.