Optimizing Aerobic Fitness and Functional Response to Exercise in Older Adults
University of Vermont Medical Center
Summary
Hospitalization and treatment for cardiovascular disease is one of the main contributors to disability in older adults. Moderate intensity continuous aerobic and resistance training have been the cornerstone of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for decades to remediate hospital-acquired functional deficits, but some groups receive less or minimal functional benefit from this training. The proposed studies seek to optimize recovery of aerobic fitness and physical function among older cardiac patients using a novel high intensity training regimen with the long-term goal of reducing subsequent disability and improving clinical outcomes.
Description
Clinical events and hospitalization often initiate disability in older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) being the primary cause of hospital acquired disability. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) was designed to correct this disability, with moderate intensity, continuous aerobic training (MICT) as its foundation but some patients, including older adults, receive less functional benefit from MICT. Attention has recently focused on high intensity interval aerobic training (HIIT) as an alternative to MICT because it improves aerobic fitness to a greater extent and is safe and feasible for older…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 65+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * \>65 years old * ambulatory * enrolled in CR at our center following a recent clinical diagnosis of myocardial infarction or percutaneous intervention will be recruited Exclusion Criteria: * have an active malignancy (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer or low grade prostate cancer under surveillance) * unwilling to comply with the exercise prescription they may be assigned to * have a submaximal performance on entry exercise tolerance test, defined as respiratory exchange ratio \<1.0
Interventions
- OtherHIIT
Patients who recently experienced a myocardial infarction (MI) or percutaneous intervention (PCI; angioplasty, stent placement or valve replacement) and enroll in Phase 2 Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) may be randomized to High intensity training (HIIT)
- OtherMICT
Patients who recently experienced a myocardial infarction (MI) or percutaneous intervention (PCI; angioplasty, stent placement or valve replacement) and enroll in Phase 2 Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) may be randomized to Moderate intensity training
Location
- UVMMC Cardiac RehabilitationSouth Burlington, Vermont