Enhanced endothelial vasoreactivity in endurance-trained older men

1 Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science, Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21224; 2 II Department of Valvular Heart Disease, Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland; 3 Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205; and 4 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 Using external vascular ultrasound, we measured brachial artery diameter (Diam) at rest, after release of 4 min of limb ischemia, i.e., endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD), and after sublingual nitroglycerin, i.e., non-endothelium-dependent dilation (NonEDD), in 35 healthy men aged 61-83 yr: 12 endurance athletes (A) and 23 controls (C). As anticipated, treadmill exercise maximal oxygen consumption ( O 2 max ) was significantly higher in A than in C (40.2 ± 6.6 vs. 27.9 ± 3.8 ml · kg 1 · min 1 ; respectively, P