HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Spina, R. J. Articles by Ehsani, A. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Spina, R. J. Articles by Ehsani, A. A.

Absence of left ventricular and arterial adaptations to exercise in octogenarians

¹Section of Applied Physiology, ²Cardiovascular Division, and ³Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110

Submitted 5 December 2003 ; accepted in final form 9 June 2004

Recent evidence suggests that octogenarians exhibit attenuated adaptations to training with a small increase in peak O₂ consumption (O₂) that is mediated by a modest improvement in cardiac output without an increase in arteriovenous O₂ content difference. This study was designed to determine whether diminished increases in peak O₂ and cardiac output in the octogenarians are associated with absence of left ventricular and arterial adaptations to exercise training. We studied 22 octogenarians (81.9 ± 3.7 yr, mean ± SD) randomly assigned a group that exercised at an intensity of 82.5 ± 5% of peak heart rate for 9 mo and 14 (age 83.1 ± 4.1) assigned to a control group. Peak O₂ increased 12% in the exercise group but decreased slightly (–7%) in the controls. The exercise group demonstrated significant but small decreases in the heart rate (6%, P = 0.002) and the rate-pressure product (9%, P = 0.004) during submaximal exercise at an absolute work rate. Training induced no significant changes in the left ventricular size, geometry (wall thickness-to-radius ratio), mass, and function assessed with two-dimensional echocardiography or in arterial stiffness evaluated with applanation tonometry. Data suggest that the absence of cardiac and arterial adaptations may in part account for the limited gain in aerobic capacity in response to training in the octogenarians.

cardiac and arterial adaptations to exercise