[Ageing and cardiac function. Is there a role of physical exercise?]

Ageing of the human heart is characterized by morphological, functional and metabolic changes regardless the development of ischemic heart disease. Physical exercise is in general considered capable to counteract the onset of these changes; nevertheless short-term interventions and cross sectional studies in older individuals questioned the possibility that physical exercise may revert these alterations. Metabolic factors, development of overt cardiac diseases and probably the timing of the intervention with physical exercise during the life-span of a single individual may explain the controversial results reported in the literature.