Left ventricular diastolic filling and systolic function of young and older trained and untrained men

Aging is associated with impaired early diastolic filling; however, the effect of endurance training on resting diastolic function in older subjects is unclear. Heart rate and ventricular loading conditions affect mitral inflow velocities measured by Doppler echocardiography; therefore, tissue Doppler imaging of mitral annular velocity, which is relatively preload independent, was combined with mitral inflow velocity and maximal oxygen consumption (V(o2 max)) in young (20-35 yr) and older (60-80 yr) trained and untrained men to determine whether endurance training is associated with an attenuation of age-associated changes in diastolic filling. As expected, V(o2 max) was higher in trained men (P < 0.01) and lower in older men (P < 0.01). Peak early mitral inflow velocity (E) and early-to-late mitral inflow velocity ratios were lower in older vs. young men (P < 0.01); however, there was no training effect (P > 0.05). Peak early mitral annular velocity (E') was higher and peak late mitral annular velocity (A') was lower in young vs. older men (P < 0.01). A significant interaction effect was found for A', E'/A', and peak systolic mitral annular velocity (S'). Training was associated with lower A' in young and higher A' in older men. S' was greater in trained vs. untrained older men (P < 0.05), but it was similar in trained and untrained young men. These findings suggest that early diastolic filling is not affected by training in older men, and the effect of training on A' and S' is different in young and older men.