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Regular aerobic exercise modulates age-associated declines in cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity in healthy men

Kevin D. Monahan *, Frank A. Dinenno *, Hirofumi Tanaka*, Christopher M. Clevenger *, Christopher A. DeSouza* and Douglas R. Seals *†

1. Cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), the arterial baroreflex-mediated change in the R-R interval per unit change in systolic blood pressure, decreases with advancing age in sedentary adult humans. We determined the effects of regular aerobic exercise on the age-related decline in cardiovagal BRS.

2. In the cross-sectional study, 133 healthy men 18-79 years of age who were either sedentary, performing moderate aerobic exercise, or endurance exercise trained were studied. Among the sedentary men, cardiovagal BRS (phase IV of Valsalva's manoeuvre) was progressively lower (P < 0·05) in the middle-aged (~33 %) and older (~60 %) groups compared with the young group. In contrast, cardiovagal BRS was similar in the young and middle-aged men in the moderate exercise and endurance-trained groups. Cardiovagal BRS was lower (P < 0·05) in the older exercising men, but the magnitude of decline across age (~30 %) was only half as great as that in sedentary men. Cardiovagal BRS was 40-75 % greater (P < 0·05) in middle-aged and older men who exercised regularly compared with their sedentary peers.

3. In the intervention study, a 3 month aerobic exercise intervention (primarily walking) increased cardiovagal BRS by an average of 25 % (P < 0·05) in 13 previously sedentary middle-aged and older (56 ± 1 years) healthy men.

4. Our results demonstrate for the first time that regular aerobic exercise: (1) attenuates the age-associated decline in cardiovagal BRS; and (2) partially restores the loss of cardiovagal BRS in previously sedentary middle-aged and older healthy men.

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