Cardiovascular effects of 1 year of progressive and vigorous exercise training in previously sedentary individuals older than 65 years of age.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized prospective before-and-after interventional study with cross-sectional comparator
PubMed 20956204 · doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.973784
What was done
Twelve sedentary seniors and 12 Masters athletes were screened for comorbidities. Invasive hemodynamic measurements using pulmonary artery catheterization assessed Starling and left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume curves during lower-body negative pressure and saline infusion. Secondary outcomes included cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, Doppler echocardiography, arterial stiffness (arterial elastance and total aortic compliance), and maximal exercise testing. Nine of the 12 sedentary seniors (mean age 70.6±3 years; 6 male, 3 female) completed 1 year of progressive and vigorous endurance training followed by repeat testing.
What was found
At baseline, sedentary seniors had smaller VO2max, LV mass, LV end-diastolic volume, and stroke volume, as well as less compliant left ventricles compared with Masters athletes. After 1 year of exercise training, LV compliance had little change. However, exercise reduced arterial elastance, increased VO2max by 19% (22.8±3.4 vs 27.2±4.3 mL/kg/min; P<0.001), and increased LV mass by 10% (64.5±7.9 vs 71.2±12.3 g/m2; P=0.037) without altering the mass-to-volume ratio.
Why it matters
Initiating vigorous exercise training in older age improves vascular elastance, aerobic capacity, and LV remodeling, but 1 year of training appears insufficient to reverse established age-related myocardial stiffening.
Limits
The sample size was very small, with only 9 sedentary participants completing the 1-year training protocol. There was no randomized sedentary control group followed longitudinally. The cohort was restricted to rigorously screened, highly selected healthy older adults.
Cited by
- supports Without vigorous exercise stimulus past a certain age, cardiac tissue will continue to stiffen and undergo fibrosis as part of the aging process.