Effect of exercise training on left ventricular performance in older women free of cardiopulmonary disease.

Endurance exercise training increases aerobic exercise capacity (maximal oxygen consumption rate [VO2max]) and attenuates the age-related decline in left ventricular (LV) function during exercise in older men. To determine whether similar adaptations occur in older women, 10 subjects (aged 63 +/- 4 years mean +/- SE) were studied before and after 9 to 12 months of endurance exercise training. They exercised 3.85 +/- 0.06 days/week at 81 +/- 0.3% of maximal heart rate. LV function at rest and during supine exercise was assessed by radionuclide ventriculography. VO2max was increased by 21% (from 1.40 +/- 0.1 to 1.7 +/- 0.1 liter/min; p < 0.001) in response to training. Maximal heart rate and systolic blood pressure during treadmill exercise were unchanged (161 +/- 5 beats/min before vs 164 +/- 3 beats/min after; p = NS, and 208 +/- 7 mm Hg before vs 214 +/- 8 mm Hg after; p = NS, respectively) after training. LV ejection fraction at rest (70.4 +/- 2% before vs 70 +/- 1% after) and during peak exercise (78.6 +/- 2% before vs 79.3 +/- 2% after) did not change in response to training. Furthermore, the increases in ejection fraction from rest to exercise were similar before and after training (change: 8.8 +/- 1 vs 9.1 +/- 1%). Stroke volume and cardiac output at peak exercise also did not change in response to training.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)