Improving aerobic capacity in healthy older adults does not necessarily lead to improved cognitive performance.

The effects of aerobic exercise training in a sample of 85 older adults were investigated. Ss were assigned randomly to either an aerobic exercise group, a nonaerobic exercise (yoga) group, or a waiting-list control group. Following 16 weeks of the group-specific protocol, all of the older Ss received 16 weeks of aerobic exercise training. The older adults demonstrated a significant increase in aerobic capacity (cardiorespiratory fitness). Performance on reaction-time tests of attention and memory retrieval was slower for the older adults than for a comparison group of 24 young adults, and there was no improvement in the older adults ' performance on these tests as a function of aerobic exercise training. Results suggest that exercise-related changes in older adults ' cognitive performance are due either to extended periods of training or to cohort differences between physically active and sedentary individuals. Several parameters of cardiovascular functioning (e.g., maxi-mal heart rate, cardiac output, and left ventricular ejection fraction during exercise) typically exhibit a decline during later adulthood, even in the absence of overt coronary diseas

Hemodynamics and Vascular Hypertrophy in African Americans and Caucasians With High Blood Pressure

BACKGROUND: Hypertension in African Americans is characterized by greater systemic vascular resistance (SVR) compared with Caucasian Americans, but the responsible mechanisms are not known. The present study sought to determine if peripheral vascular hypertrophy is a potential mechanism contributing to elevated SVR in African Americans with high blood pressure (BP). METHODS: In a biracial sample of 80 men and women between the ages of 25 and 45 years, with clinic BP in the range 130/85-160/99mm Hg, we assessed cardiac output and SVR, in addition to BP. Minimum forearm vascular resistance (MFVR), a marker of vascular hypertrophy, also was assessed. RESULTS: SVR was elevated in African Americans compared with Caucasians (P < 0.001). Regression models indicated that age, body mass index, 24-hour diastolic BP, and ethnicity were significant predictors of SVR. There was also a significant interaction between ethnicity and MFVR in explaining SVR in the study sample. In particular, there was a significant positive association between MFVR and SVR among African Americans (P = 0.002), whereas the association was inverse and not statistically significant among Caucasians (P = 0.601). CONCLUSION: Hypertrophy of the systemic microvasculature may contribute to the elevated SVR that is characteristic of the early stages of hypertension in African American compared with Caucasians

Survival predictors of heart rate variability after myocardial infarction with and without low left ventricular ejection fraction

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) dynamics are used to predict the survival probability of patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but the association has been established in patients with mixed levels of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Objective: We investigated whether the survival predictors of HRV and HR dynamics depend on LVEF after AMI. Methods: We studied 687 post-AMI patients including 147 with LVEF ≤35% and 540 with LVEF \u3e35%, of which 23 (16%) and 22 (4%) died during the 25 month follow-up period, respectively. None had an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator. From baseline 24 h ECG, the standard deviation (SDNN), root mean square of successive difference (rMSSD), percentage of successive difference \u3e50 ms (pNN50) of normal-to-normal R-R interval, ultra-low (ULF), very-low (VLF), low (LF), and high (HF) frequency power, deceleration capacity (DC), short-term scaling exponent (α Results: The predictors were categorized into three clusters; DC, SDNN, α Conclusion: The mortality risk in post-AMI patients with low LVEF is predicted by indices reflecting decreased HRV or HR responsiveness and cardiac parasympathetic dysfunction, whereas in patients without low LVEF, the risk is predicted by a combination of indices that reflect decreased HRV or HR responsiveness and indicator that reflects abrupt large HR changes suggesting sympathetic involvement

Effects of Exercise and Sertraline on Measures of Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Patients With Major Depression: Results From the SMILE-II Randomized Clinical Trial

To assess the effects of supervised and home-based aerobic exercise training, and antidepressant pharmacotherapy (sertraline) on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in a sample of participants with major depressive disorder (MDD)

Exercise Fails to Improve Neurocognition in Depressed Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Purpose: Although cross-sectional studies have demonstrated an association between higher levels of aerobic fitness and improved neurocognitive function, there have been relatively few interventional studies investigating this relationship, and results have been inconsistent. We assessed the effects of aerobic exercise on neurocognitive function in a randomized controlled trial of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Two-hundred and two sedentary men (n = 49) and women (n = 153), aged 40 yr and over and who met diagnostic criteria for MDD, were randomly assigned to the following: a) supervised exercise, b) home-based exercise, c) sertraline, or d) placebo pill. Before and after 4 months of treatment, participants completed measures of: Executive Function (Trail Making Test BA difference score, Stroop Color/Word, Ruff 2 & 7 Test, Digit Symbol), Verbal Memory (Logical Memory, Verbal Paired Associates), and Verbal Fluency/Working Memory (Animal Naming, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Digit Span). Multivariate analyses of covariance were performed to test the effects of treatment on posttreatment neuropsychological test scores, with baseline neuropsychological test scores, age, education, and change in depression scores entered as covariates. Results: The performance of exercise participants was no better than participants receiving placebo across all neuropsychological tests. Exercise participants performed better than participants receiving sertraline on tests of executive function but not on tests of verbal memory or verbal fluency/ working memory. Conclusions: We found little evidence to support the benefits of an aerobic exercise intervention on neurocognitive performance in patients with MDD. Originally published Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, Vol. 40, No. 7, July 200

Ethnic Differences in the Effects of the DASH Diet on Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping in Individuals with High Blood Pressure

Ethnic differences in nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping may contribute to the increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events noted in African Americans (AAs). The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has been shown to be efficacious in lowering clinic and ambulatory BP; however, the effect of the DASH diet on BP dipping is unclear