Exercise Attenuates Intermittent Hypoxia-Induced Cardiac Fibrosis Associated with Sodium-Hydrogen Exchanger-1 in Rats

Purpose: To investigate the role of sodium-hydrogen exchanger-1 (NHE-1) and exercise training on intermittent hypoxia-induced cardiac fibrosis in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), using an animal model mimicking the intermittent hypoxia of OSA. Methods: Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control (CON), intermittent hypoxia (IH), exercise (EXE), or IH combined with exercise (IHEXE) groups. These groups were randomly...