Endurance exercise training augments diastolic filling at rest and during exercise in healthy young and older men.

Abstract
BACKGROUNDDiastolic filling at rest is altered markedly with advancing age. Whether exercise training can improve diastolic filling at rest or during exercise in either healthy older or healthy young men has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to determine if 6 months of aerobic exercise training improves diastolic filling.METHODS AND RESULTSRadionuclide diastolic filling parameters were measured at rest and during exercise in 14 older (age, 60 to 82 years) and 17 young (age, 24 to 32 years) rigorously screened healthy males before exercise training and in 13 older and 11 young men after 6 months of endurance exercise training. Diastolic filling rates were expressed in two ways, as absolute milliliters of blood (mL.s-1.m-2) and normalized to the end-diastolic volume. At baseline, the peak early filling rates were lower in the older group compared with the young group as expressed in absolute milliliters of blood (older, 85 +/- 7 mL.s-1.m-2; young, 173 +/- 10 mL.s-1.m-2; P < or = .0001) and ...