Exercise Slows Aspects of Cardiac Aging in Rats
Exercise is known to improve health and modestly slow the progression of age-related degeneration. Here is one example of numerous ongoing research programs that seek to define the effects of exercise on specific aspects of the aging process:
Aging is an inevitable trend of the world's population, and it is accompanied with serious age-related health issues in modern society that must be investigated. Aging is the most important risk factor in cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the leading cause of death worldwide. The major factor in heart failure during aging is heart remodeling, including long-term stress-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. Exercise is good for aging heart health, but the impact of exercise training on aging is not defined.This study used 3-, 12- and 18-month-old rats and randomly divided each age group into no exercise training control groups (C3, A12 and A18) and moderate gentle swimming exercise training groups (E3, AE12 and AE18). The protocol of exercise training was swimming five times weekly with gradual increases from the first week from 20 to 60 min for 12 weeks.
Analyses of protein from rat heart tissues and sections revealed cardiac inflammation, hypertrophy and fibrosis pathway increases in aged rat groups (A12 and A18), which were improved in exercise training groups (AE12 and AE18). There were no heart injuries in young rat hearts in exercise group E3. These data suggest that moderate swimming exercise training attenuated aging-induced cardiac inflammation, hypertrophy and fibrosis injuries of rat hearts.