Aerobic exercise training and vascular function with ageing in healthy men and women

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both men and women in developed societies. Age is the greatest risk factor for CVD due largely to adverse changes to arteries that include stiffening of the large elastic arteries (aortic and carotid arteries) and endothelial dysfunction. Vascular ageing is driven by oxidative stress, which reduces nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and stimulates changes in the extracellular matrix. In women, reductions in circulating oestrogens with menopause interact with ageing processes to induce vascular dysfunction. Regular aerobic exercise is the most evidence-based strategy for reducing CVD risk with ageing in both men and women. Much of this cardiovascular-protective effect of aerobic exercise is likely due to its vascular health-enhancing influence. Large elastic artery stiffening with advancing age is attenuated in healthy adults engaged in aerobic exercise training, and aerobic exercise interventions improve arterial stiffness in previously sedentary middle-aged and older men and postmenopausal women. Regular aerobic exercise also enhances endothelial function with ageing in men (by reducing oxidative stress and preserving NO bioavailability), but not consistently in oestrogen-deficient postmenopausal women. In postmenopausal women, treatment with oestradiol appears to restore the ability of aerobic exercise to improve NO-mediated endothelial function by reducing oxidative stress. Several research gaps exist in our understanding of potential sex differences in the vascular adaptations to regular aerobic exercise. More information is needed on the factors that are responsible for sex differences, including the role of circulating oestrogens in transducing the aerobic exercise training 'stimulus'.