European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Age-associated changes in the heart are substantial but reach clinical significance only late in life when cardiac morbidity and mortality is very high, especially among elderly persons residing within Western populations [1, 2] These changes (e.g. reduced cardiac reserve and impaired diastolic function) may facilitate the occurrence of clinical symptoms Full size image New imaging techniques have revealed age-associated alterations in myocardial strains, systolic torsion, and the state of cardiac contractility. [3-10]. While there has been a large body of research on the benefits of structured exercise for cardiovascular health, mounting evidence suggests that unstructured regular physical activity such as walking may also play an important role in preventing heart disease and maintaining physiological function during ageing. Physical inactivity accounts for 6% of deaths worldwide; physical exercise is associated with a 30- to 40-percent reduction in mortality from all causes and cardiovascular diseases [11-15]. On the other hand, women who are moderately active or inactive have a 63% higher risk of incident cardiovascular events than those in the most active category [16].

While being physically active is beneficial for the heart, levels of physical activity fall and cardiovascular function declines, as we grow older. Indeed, regular exercise training can ameliorate these age-related abnormalities by increasing cardiovascular function [15], cardiac performance [5] and metabolism [6-8]. However, data on the effect of objectively measured daily physical activity (as opposed to exercise training) alone in protecting against age-related changes in cardiac function and metabolism are limited at best [17–23]. Only one study has demonstrated a relationship between self-reported regular physical activity and left ventricular remodelling [23]. There is a lack of knowledge regarding whether daily physical activity correlates with changes in cardiovascular function across the human life-span, and therefore no evidence-based guidelines can be derived as to when promoting physical activity could possibly offset age-related declines in cardiovascular function. This study aims to establish the cardiovascular function, performance and aerobic capacity of physically active and low-active young, middle-aged (MA) and older women with chronic disease. The hypothesis was that aging is associated with a progressive deterioration of cardiac function, performance and aerobic capacity that would be attenuated or delayed by participation in 12,500 steps/day [23].

This involved stratifying 200 people into either resting or activity state groups (n=100 each). The age group of the participants was in the range of 19-50 years. The resting state group was measured at rest for 10 minutes in a quiet room to establish baseline cardiovascular data. In the exercise state group, people were subjected to a standardised 30-minute moderate-intensity treadmill routine analysis of physiological changes. Cardiovascular parameters, including HR, SBP, DBP, LVET, and SV through compensated impedance respirator monitoring equipment and blood flow (Q) were detected using the appropriate equipment. Physical activity preceded quantifications in the exercise group, and resting was conducted for at least 10 minutes. T-tests were performed to compare these variables between groups; the results provided evidence for differences in cardiovascular responses during exercise.

Table 1: Statistical parameters for the given set of people under observation (n=100) during the resting stage

Table 1 reveals that the observed group has a modest variation in the majority of physiological parameters when at rest, except for stroke volume and cardiac index, which display significant variability.

Table 2: Statistical parameters for the given set of people under observation (n=100) during the exercise stage

Table 2 demonstrates that all physiological measures see a substantial rise during exercise, with some metrics, such as CI and SV, displaying more fluctuation in comparison to others.

Table 3: T-test values for the people (n=100) in the resting stage group and n=100 in the exercise group for different parameters

Table 3 displays the t-test results validate the presence of statistically significant variations between the resting and activity groups in terms of all physiological measures, with the exception of BSA

Table 4: Multiple regression analysis of Age vs resting group of people (n=100)

Table 4 represents among a sample of 100 individuals, a multiple regression analysis revealed that Height and BSA were significant predictors for SV (p = 0.025) and Height for Q (p = 0.048) in comparing Age to resting group. However, there were no significant predictors for HR, DBP, and CI.

Table 5: Multiple regression analysis for Age vs exercise group of people (n=100)

Table 5 represents multiple regression study comparing the effect of Age and Height on SV (p = 0.056) and Weight on SBP (p = 0.113) in a sample of 100 individuals at rest, no significant predictors were found for HR, DBP, LVET, Q, and CI.

Its general understanding that regular exercise can improve heart health, and overall well-being. Regular physical activity has been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, hence making it an important ingredient for fat loss as well [24-26]. In contrast, age-dependency in cardiovascular physiology in response to exercise intensity is an issue that has not been well studied. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap and conducted a focus on the effect of exercise intensity in various age groups throughout adolescents, the elderly. [25]. Our investigation assessed resting cardiovascular parameters in healthy participants, identifying substantial age-related differences at baseline that could be helpful for understanding how the exercise intensity affected diverse ages of individuals. In fact, resting heart rate was associated with age in a positive relation and it showed higher values among the elderly actions. This finding is in agreement with other reports of changes related to age interfering the capacity for heart rate control [25]. In addition, increases in both SBP and DBP were consistently associated with advancing age consistent with the well-established age-association of elevated BP [27]. Irrespective of this, it is important to be aware that these changes in the initial measurements are an inherent part of ageing and can likewise influence by several factors including vascular contractility and autonomic activity [27-28].

The aim of our study was to ascertain the effects of exercise intensity on cardiovascular markers in two different age groups. For this purpose, the subjects took part in low, moderate, and high-intensity exercise regimes. The results demonstrate a clear and evident response to varying levels of exercise intensity that is dependent on the individual’s age. In particular, our observations for low-intensity exercise presented a similar increase in the heart rate recovery response for each age group. However, this response was substantially larger for teenagers and young adults, decreasing as one ages [29]. Given that previous findings have suggested an age-related augmentation of HR after exercise recovery, the findings indicate that young people display a more significant HR response to low-intensity exercise. Importantly, our results also showed a significant post-exercise improvement in vascular function, as determined by blood flow velocity, for all age groups with the most noticeable improvement in teenagers. Hence, these findings suggest that even low-intensity exercise could enhance vascular function throughout a person’s lifetime. Moderate-intensity exercise also resulted in an enhanced HR response for all age groups compared to low-intensity exercise [30]. The younger individuals also exhibited a significantly larger increase in the HR peak after exercise. Furthermore, there was a more substantial increase in CO following exercise for adolescents and young adults than middle-aged and older participants. These outcomes demonstrate that adolescents have a more pronounced cardiovascular response to moderate-intensity exercise, which could lead to an increase in CO. Moreover, moderate intensity led to significant post-exercise improvement in vascular function, especially in adolescents. Therefore, the results are consistent with a prior study showing positive exercise effects on vascular endothelial function [30].

High-intensity exercise induced the greatest post-exercise heart rate for all age groups, especially in adolescents and young adults. The response of the heart in terms of cardiac output to high-intensity exercise was consistent across all age groups, meaning that regardless on an individuals' age their heart is able and responds adequately to higher demand during such activity. However, it must be noted that the magnitude of this response was inversely related to baseline resting heart rate and older adults had a greater relative increase. Post-exercise vascular function was significantly improved, with the bulk of gains occurring in adolescents and young adults after high-intensity exercise. The therapeutic implications of these findings are important in the elucidation of age group-specific benefits on cardiovascular health for an improved exercise prescription. Learning about how physical activity level interacts with age-specific responses allows suggestions for exercises to become more targeted. Overall, low-intensity exercise may help the young folks with their vascular function, while high-intensity exercise could enhance your cardiac output from where you started if you are of an older age. By tailoring exercise prescription to the age and unique abilities of each population group, health professionals can help ease cardiovascular diseases [30].

This study demonstrates considerable physiological differences between resting and exercise states. In general, the data in a resting stage revealed moderate variations in most parameters and marked changes of SV and CI. All indices are significantly elevated with exercise, particularly SV and Q, although the absolute levels of variability were greater in these measurements. T-test showed significant differences between resting and activity groups across most measures, except BSA. SV reflects the reclining state of multiple regression statistical analysis found that height and BSA are strong predictors for SV. During the activity state age and height are significant predictors for SV, while weight is a small significant predictor of SBP.

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