Preserved vascular reactivity in elderly male athletes

The objective was to characterise function and morphology of the arterial wall in 9 elderly men (mean age 75 +/- 3.4 years) with a history of lifelong regular strenuous exercise. A control group of 11 healthy sedentary or moderately physically active men (74.5 +/- 2.7 years) was also studied. With increasing age atherosclerosis becomes more common and endothelium-dependent vasodilation reduced. The effects of training on endothelial function and atherosclerosis have not been studied previously in elderly subjects. High-frequency ultrasound was used to estimate vasodilatory function in the brachial artery. The endothelium-dependent (flow-mediated) and non-endothelium-dependent (nitroglycerine-induced) dilation of the brachial artery were measured. Stasis was used to induce reactive hyperaemia. The carotid arteries were scanned for plaques, intima-media thickness was measured in the common carotid arteries and arterial wall stiffness was calculated from pulsatile diameter changes in the right carotid artery in relation to blood pressure. The athletes' maximal oxygen uptake during treadmill exercise was 2.90 +/- 0.50 l or 41 +/- 7 ml.kg-1. The athletes' and the controls' maximal exercise capacity on a bicycle was 254 +/- 38 W and 148 +/- 19 W respectively (P < 0.001). The athletes' body mass index was 22.6 +/- 2.6 kg.m-2 and the controls' body mass index was 25.8 +/- 3.5 kg.m-2 (P = 0.037). Three of 9 athletes had plaques in either or both carotid bifurcations compared with 6 of 11 controls. The athletes had less stiff arteries and better vasodilatory capacity in the brachial artery during increased flow, and borderline significantly greater vasodilation after nitroglycerine. So, elderly athletes with a lifelong training history appear to have better vasodilatory capacity and less stiff arteries than healthy controls. Plaques in the carotid bifurcation were common in both athletes and controls.