Effects of Lifestyle

Diet, exercise habits, and smoking may affect the heart and blood vessels of older persons, as suggested by cross-cultural studies. For instance, a difference in dietary sodium may account for some of the differences in age-associated blood pressure changes that occur among persons of different countries. However, some changes occur because the sodium sensitivity of arterial pressure regulation increases with age.

Physical conditioning appears to lessen the vascular stiffening associated with aging. Late augmentation of resting systolic blood pressure, which is an index of arterial stiffness, is increased by only about half as much in endurance-trained elderly persons as it is in sedentary ones.

Physical conditioning can also improve the aerobic capacity of older persons by increasing cardiac output and O₂ utilization. Older persons in good physical condition can match or exceed the aerobic capacity of unconditioned younger persons.

Effects of exercise in older animals are consistent with those in older persons: Some of the age-associated changes in cardiac function (eg, prolonged myocardial relaxation, reduced sarcoplasmic reticulum function) are reversed. However, conditioning does not affect the prolonged action potential or the myosin isoenzyme shift to slower forms.