Abstract Introduction: Hypertension is one of the common diseases in modern societies. ANP hormone is one of the factors regulating blood pressure. Apart from conventional clinical treatments, recent attention has been paid to the impact of exercise on ANP. But there is still debate around the type of exercise that is being used. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic and resistance training on gene expression and protein levels of ANP in male Wistar rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 15 male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups of 5 subjects including (1) control, (2) aerobic training, and (3) resistance training. Aerobic training included running on treadmill at 20 m/min (5 sessions, each session 60 minutes per week), while resistance training included climbing a ladder of one meter with 85-degree slope. For analyzing the findings, one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test were run using SPSS version 19 (p<0.05). Results: aerobic training had a significant effect on the increased levels of the ANP gene expression (p = 0.001) and ANP tissue concentration (p = 0.001) in the heart tissue of rats. Resistance training had a significant effect on the increased levels of ANP gene expression (p = 0.001) and ANP tissue concentration (p = 0.001) in the heart tissue of rats. Also, aerobic training had a greater effect on the ANP gene expression and ANP tissue concentration in the heart tissue of rats compared to resistance training (p = 0.001). Conclusion: It seems that aerobic and resistance training with a significant increase in ANP gene expression and ANP concentration, elevate heart health, however, the effect of aerobic training in this field was more than resistance training.

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