Effects of Cardiovascular Interval Training in Healthy Elderly Subjects: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The aim of this review is to demonstrate the effects of cardiovascular interval training (IT) on healthy elderly subjects. We used the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The following variables were observed: resting heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MBP), heart rate variability (HRV), baroreflex activity (BA), and maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max). Studies were searched for in the MedLine, PubMed, and Sport Discus databases considering publications between 1990 and 2019. To find the studies, the keywords used were "Interval and Elderly Training" or "Interval Training and Baroreflex Sensing" or "Interval Training and Aging and Pressure Arterial and Blood Pressure Training" or "Interval Training and Variation in Aging and Heart Rate" or "Interval Training and Sensitivity to the Elderly and Baroreflex" or "Interval Training and Variability in the Elderly and Heart Rate." The systematic search identified 1,140 hits. The analysis of the study was performed through a critical review of the content. One thousand one hundred forty articles were identified. Of these, 1,108 articles were excluded by checking the articles and abstracts. Finally, 32 studies were selected for full reading while 26 studies were eliminated because they did not contain a methodology according to the purpose of this review. Thus, six studies were included for the final analysis. The PEDro score was used for analyzing the study quality and found 4,8 ± 1,3 points (range: 3-6). Positive results were found with the different IT protocols in the observed variables. Results show that IT protocols can be an efficient method for functional improvement of cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory variables in the healthy elderly, especially HR, SBP, DBP, MAP, HRV, BA, and VO 2max. However, this method can be included in the prescription of aerobic training for the elderly to obtain conditional improvements in the cardiovascular system, thus being an important clinical intervention for the public.

Chronic effects of different neuromuscular training on hemodynamic responses estimated vo2max and walking performance in the elderly

“…Our findings demonstrated that the applied interventions were insufficient to promote significant improvements (reductions) in this variable regarding HR. However, these results are in line with other studies that found insignificance between different HR modalities, which proves to be a variable of more discrete (positive) changes 4 .…”

“…cardiovascular4, respiratory5, neuromuscular6, neurological7 Regarding the repercussions of aging on the elderly's physiological and functional actions, changes can affect the cardiovascular 4 , cardiorespiratory 5 , neuromuscular 6 , neurological 7 , and other systems, impacting the efficiency of functional capacity and independence of movement of the elderly 8 . However, physical exercises are an excellent intervention for conditional improvement and help in the aging process 4 . There is evidence that the physiological and functional reductions of the elderly are more related to low physical conditioning than aging itself 9 .…”

“…However, when referring to cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory behavior in the elderly, studies, in large part, are related to interventions with exercises with aerobic characteristics (performed on treadmills, cycle ergometers, among others) 4 Concerning studies related to neuromuscular training in cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory responses in the elderly, research is still scarce, even knowing the importance of these types of training for this population 13,15 ; and these features integrate essential actions for a greater capacity for functional autonomy 8 , thus enabling the promotion of health and quality of life for this population 9 . Therefore, in this study, we call attention to the variables of muscle strength prescribed at different intensities as an instrument for improving physical conditioning and, consequently, the performance of movement execution, influencing cardiorespiratory variables studied here.…”

Acute hemodynamic responses are not different for mono and multiarticular exercises for the same muscle group

“…It is well established that the regular practice of resistance training leads to a favorable impact on the behavior of blood pressure (Araújo et al, 2018), both in the short and long term, due to a sequence of neurohormonal adjustments such as renin-angiotensin-aldosterone regulation and sites that generate the reduction in cardiac output values and peripheral vascular resistance (Ramos et al, 2019). Blood pressure is one of the most important indicators of cardiovascular health (Sant' Ana et al, 2020).…”

Chronic Effects of Different Intensities of Interval Training on Hemodynamic, Autonomic and Cardiorespiratory Variables of Physically Active Elderly People

“…In the elderly, another factor that can hinder the practice of some activity at higher intensities is the motor pattern. In IT, the time at higher intensities is shorter, which may provide greater tness for the practice of exercise, and with that, IT can be a suitable training prescription option [32]. However, conditional improvements in this population become indispensable, since the physical tness index [11] it is a determining factor to enable a greater preservation of functional and organic e ciencies and, thus, to minimize the deleterious effects caused by the low physical tness added to the aging process [22].…”