Zhang, Xue-Qian, Yuk-Chow Ng, Timothy I. Musch, Russell L. Moore, R. Zelis, and Joseph Y. Cheung. Sprint training attenuates myocyte hypertrophy and improves Ca2+ homeostasis in postinfarction myocytes. J. Appl. Physiol. 84(2): 544–552, 1998.—Myocytes isolated from rat hearts 3 wk after myocardial infarction (MI) had decreased Na+/Ca2+exchange currents ( I Na/Ca; 3 Na+ out:1 Ca2+ in) and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)-releasable Ca2+contents. These defects in Ca2+regulation may contribute to abnormal contractility in MI myocytes. Because exercise training elicits positive adaptations in cardiac contractile function and myocardial Ca2+ regulation, the present study examined whether 6–8 wk of high-intensity sprint training (HIST) would ameliorate some of the cellular maladaptations observed in post-MI rats with limited exercise activity (Sed). In MI rats, HIST did not affect citrate synthase activities of plantaris muscles but significantly increased the percentage of cardiac α-myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms (57.2 ± 1.9 vs. 49.3 ± 3.5 in MI-HIST vs. MI-Sed, respectively; P ≤ 0.05). At the single myocyte level, HIST attenuated cellular hypertrophy observed post-MI, as evidenced by reductions in cell lengths (112 ± 4 vs. 130 ± 5 μm in MI-HIST vs. MI-Sed, respectively; P ≤ 0.005) and cell capacitances (212 ± 8 vs. 242 ± 9 pF in MI-HIST vs. MI-Sed, respectively; P ≤ 0.015). Reverse I Na/Ca was significantly lower ( P ≤ 0.0001) in myocytes from MI-Sed rats compared with those from rats that were sham operated and sedentary. HIST significantly increased reverse I Na/Ca( P ≤ 0.05) without affecting the amount of Na+/Ca2+exchangers (detected by immunoblotting) in MI myocytes. SR-releasable Ca2+ content, as estimated by integrating forward I Na/Ca during caffeine-induced SR Ca2+ release, was also significantly increased ( P ≤ 0.02) by HIST in MI myocytes. We conclude that the enhanced cardiac output and stroke volume in post-MI rats subjected to HIST are mediated, at least in part, by reversal of cellular maladaptations post-MI.