Exercise improves postischemic function in aging hearts.

Exercise improves cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion in young animals but has not been investigated in older animals, which represent the population most likely to suffer an ischemic event. Therefore, we sought to determine the effects of aging on exercise-induced cardioprotection. Young, middle-aged, and old (4, 12, and 21 mo old) male Fischer 344 rats ran 60 min at 70-75% of maximum oxygen consumption. Twenty-four hours postexercise, isolated perfused working hearts underwent 22.5 min of global ischemia and then 30 min of recovery (reperfusion). Compared with sedentary rats (n = 8-9 rats/group), recovery of function (cardiac output x systolic pressure) improved after exercise (n = 9 rats/group) by 40% at 4 mo, 78% at 12 mo, and 59% at 21 mo. Exercise increased inducible heat shock protein 70 expression 105% at 4 mo but only 27% at 12 mo and 24% at 21 mo. Catalase activity progressively increased with age (P < 0.05) and was increased by exercise at 4 mo (26%) and 21 mo (19%). Manganese superoxide dismutase activity was increased by exercise only at 21 mo (45%). No exercise-related change in any antioxidant enzyme was observed at 12 mo. We conclude that exercise can enhance cardioprotection regardless of age, but the cardioprotective protein phenotype changes with age.