Effects of age on hemorheological responses to acute endurance exercise

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of age on the acute responses of hemorheological variables and biochemical parameters to a single bout of sub-maximal endurance exercise. Fifteen young (20-30 years), 15 middle-aged (40-50 years) and 12 old (60-70 years) male subjects participated in the study. All subjects performed one single bout of endurance exercise encompassed 30-min cycling at 70-75% of maximal heart rate which was followed by 30-min recovery. Three blood samples were taken before, immediately after exercise and after 30-min recovery. Resting levels of hematocrit, red blood cells count, plasma albumin and fibrinogen concentrations, plasma viscosity and whole blood viscosity were significantly different among the three groups (P < 0.01). Thirty minutes of cycling resulted in significant increases (P < 0.05) in all parameters; while these changes were temporary and returned to pre-exercise level at the end of recovery. Responses of all parameters to exercise and recovery were not significantly different among the three groups (P > 0.05). Fibrinogen changes during exercise and recovery were corrected for exercise- and recovery-induced changes in plasma volume. Data analysis showed effects of exercise and recovery only for raw data (P > 0.05). In addition, raw and corrected fibrinogen data in response to exercise and recovery were not age-related. Our results demonstrate that age does not affect the hemorheological responses to an acute endurance exercise in healthy men.