Author(s): KNEFFEL, ZS., PAVLIK, G., TÓTH, M., RADÁK, ZS., Institution: HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY OF SPORTS SCIENCE, Country: HUNGARY, Abstract-ID: 323

INTRODUCTION:
Hypertension is one of the most frequent diseases, approximately 40% of the adult population is involved, in the older adults its incidence is even higher, nearly 70%-80%. It is responsible for more than 50% of the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, atherosclerosis and coronary diseases. With aging, either with or without hypertension, the cardiac condition becomes impaired; its main manifestation is left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and a worsened function. Regular physical training is recognized for its positive impact on both hypertension and age-related cardiac issues. Given the limited research on older individuals with hypertension, this study aimed to focus on the cardiac advantages of an active lifestyle in this specific population.
METHODS:
Cardiac morphology and function in 199 normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HT), active and sedentary individuals, (male, n=111), were assessed at age >60 yrs. Echocardiography was performed in all subjects including two-dimensional guided M-mode, Doppler- and tissue Doppler measurements. Results were compared either by ANOVA, or by Kruskall-Wallis test.
RESULTS:
LVM was referred to the body dimension by an index in which the exponent of the numerator and denominator is matched. Left ventricular muscle index (LVMI), is higher in active young than in sedentary ones, in our sample this variable was smaller in actives except in HT females (male NT: 82.9 vs. 98.3 g/m3; HT: 87.7 vs. 107 g/m3; female NT: 76.7 vs. 89.1 g/m3, HT:80.6 vs.91). Diastolic function was better in the following active groups (male, NT: 1.03 vs. 0.76, HT: 0.98 vs. 0.77 ns; female, NT: 1.21 vs. 0.9, HT: 1.04 vs. 0.88). Tissue Doppler results were also better in the active groups.
CONCLUSION:
Our results indicates that at the older age the LV hypertrophy, which is a characteristic of the athlete’s heart at the young age, becomes inverted between active and sedentary groups indicating that active lifestyle can prevent pathologic LV hypertrophy. The diastolic function, was also better in the active groups, the difference between the active and sedentary groups was more marked in the normotensive male groups than in the hypertensive ones.