Age Related Changes in Cardiac Physiology as a Predictor of Exercise Tolerance

Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Status: Completed

Conditions: Aging; Exercise Tolerance

Treatments: Other: Echo stress test

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02779972

TASMC-16-UC-0090-16-TLV-CTIL

Details and patient eligibility

About

Aging is associated with numerous changes and adaptations in the cardiovascular system. Vascular and ventricular wall thickness increase, whereas arterial compliance, endothelial function, and ventricular contractility decline. The decline in cardiac function with advancing age is typically seen in parallel to reduced physical activity, and it has been proposed that lifelong exercise training might attenuate the effects of aging on the heart.

The cardiovascular system undergoes several age-related changes. For most healthy older individuals, the heart generally functions well under resting conditions. Structural and physiological changes tend to result in diminished exercise tolerance. However, increasingly it has been shown that even some of these changes are more a result of a sedentary lifestyle than an age-related phenomenon. Most elderly people tend to become less physically active. It is difficult to separate changes intrinsic to the aging process from those arising as a result of a sedentary lifestyle.

Full description

Previous large studies have concluded that resting LV diastolic and systolic function decline with age. The cardiovascular system undergoes several age-related changes. For most healthy older individuals, the heart generally functions well under resting conditions. Structural and physiological changes tend to result in diminished exercise tolerance. However, increasingly it has been shown that even some of these changes are more a result of a sedentary lifestyle than an age-related phenomenon. Most elderly people tend to become less physically active. It is difficult to separate changes intrinsic to the aging process from those arising as a result of a sedentary lifestyle. Studies of aging and physical activity usually compare older athletes with sedentary ones, in which physical activity was not found to attenuate the impact on the aging heart. Thus, the investigators set of to find the difference between hearts of elderly who are physically fit as measured with METS to those who are not. And try and understand the basis of this difference.

Enrollment: 250 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• All patients above 65 with preserved systolic function and stress echo on a treadmill between 1 Jan 2012 until 31 Dec 2015 in the facility.

Exclusion criteria

• Missing complete information used for data collection.

Trial design

250 participants in 3 patient groups

60's decade

Description:

60's decade Echo stress test

Treatment:

Other: Echo stress test

70's decade

Description:

70's decade Echo stress test

Treatment:

Other: Echo stress test

80's decade

Description:

80's decade Echo stress test

Treatment:

Other: Echo stress test