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Venous smooth muscle tone and responsiveness in older adults

¹Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark; and ²Christiana Care Health System, Inc., Cardiovascular Research, Newark, Deleware

Submitted 19 April 2006 ; accepted in final form 23 June 2006

Venous compliance is lower in older adults compared with younger adults. It is possible that alterations in venous smooth muscle tone and responsiveness may contribute to the age-related differences in venous compliance. To determine the effects of sympathetic activation [cold pressor test (cold pressor test); rhythmic ischemic handgrip (rhythmic ischemic handgrip)] and endothelium-independent decreases in smooth muscle tone [sublingual nitroglycerin (nitroglycerin)] on venous compliance in young and older adults, forearm and calf venous compliance was measured in 12 young (22 ± 1 yr) and 12 old (65 ± 1 yr) supine subjects using venous occlusion plethysmography. Venous compliance was assessed at baseline, during the cold pressor test and rhythmic ischemic handgrip tests, and after nitroglycerin administration. All pressure-volume relationships were modeled with a quadratic regression equation, and ₁ and ₂ were used as indexes of venous compliance. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to determine the effect of the age and trial on venous compliance. Calf regression parameters ₁ (0.0639 ± 0.0126 vs. 0.0503 ± 0.0059, young vs. older; P < 0.05) and ₂ (–0.00054 ± 0.00011 vs. –0.00041 ± 0.00005, young vs. older; P < 0.05) were significantly less in older adults at baseline. Similarly, forearm regression parameters, ₁ and ₂ were lower in older adults at baseline. Venous compliance was not effected by the cold pressor test test, rhythmic ischemic handgrip, or sublingual nitroglycerin in either group. Data suggest that forearm and calf venous compliance is lower in older adults compared with young. However, this difference probably cannot be explained by alterations in smooth muscle tone or responsiveness.

aging; nitroglycerin; venous capacitance

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