The Role of Exercise in Cardiac Aging: From Physiology to Molecular Mechanisms

Overview

Journal Circ Res

Specialty Cardiology & Vascular Diseases

Date 2016 Feb 4

PMID 26838314

Citations 70

Authors

Jason Roh

James Rhee

Vinita Chaudhari

Anthony Rosenzweig

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aging induces structural and functional changes in the heart that are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and impaired functional capacity in the elderly. Exercise is a diagnostic and therapeutic tool, with the potential to provide insights into clinical diagnosis and prognosis, as well as the molecular mechanisms by which aging influences cardiac physiology and function. In this review, we first provide an overview of how aging impacts the cardiac response to exercise, and the implications this has for functional capacity in older adults. We then review the underlying molecular mechanisms by which cardiac aging contributes to exercise intolerance, and conversely how exercise training can potentially modulate aging phenotypes in the heart. Finally, we highlight the potential use of these exercise models to complement models of disease in efforts to uncover new therapeutic targets to prevent or treat heart disease in the aging population.

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