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

Completed

• Conditions: Exercise Tolerance; Aging
• Interventions: Other: Echo stress test

• Registration Number: NCT02779972
• Lead Sponsor: Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Brief Summary

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.

Detailed 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.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2016-03-01
• Study First Submitted: 2016-05-17
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-05-19
• Study First Posted: 2016-05-23
• Primary Completion: 2018-01-30
• Status Verified: 2018-02
• Study Completion: 2018-02-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-02-14
• Last Update Posted: 2018-02-15

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 250

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.

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
60's decade	Echo stress test	60's decade Echo stress test
70's decade	Echo stress test	70's decade Echo stress test
80's decade	Echo stress test	80's decade Echo stress test

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cardiac output at maximal stress test	45 minutes	mean cardiac output in liter per minute for each age group

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center; 🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel