Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2006 , Vol 9, Issue 1
CARDIAC AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT TYPE OF EXERCISE IN GERIATRIC AND MIDLLE AGED WOMEN: EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY IN ELDERLY
S. B. Ankara Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi 1. Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, ANKARA Aims: This study is designed to compare cardiac autonomic responses of geriatric and middle aged women to isometric and resistive type of exercises.

Intraduction: Aging is related with a decrease in tonic vagal control of heart, in baroreflex control of heart rate and in muscle metaboreflex. Cardiac output decreases with age and rate of blood flow to muscles also decreases. QT interval is observed to have a relation with cardiac aoutonomic tests and is accepted as an independent risk factor. QT interval shows variation between men and women. QTc is obtained after correction of QT interval by heart rate, according to Bazzet's formula. Apart from age; obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension are among diseases that cause cardiac autonomic dysfunction.

Material and Methods: Female geriatric group composed of 20 patients aged between 60-75 (mean: 66.8 ± .5) and female middle aged control group composed of 20 patients between 30- 50 (mean: 41.2 ± 6.6) are evaluated by electrocardiography (QTc) taken after a 10 minutes of rest and by total points they got from cardiac autonomic function tests defined by Ewing-Clark. Later EKG is repeated seperately after isometric and resistive exercise has ended.

Results: Abnormal autonomic results and abnormal QTc values are obtained in majority of the patients in both groups ( %90 and %95).

Conclusion: Although geriatric female patients have hypertension and inactivity that can affect autonomic function tests, a statistically significant difference between autonomic function tests after rest and QTc interval after rest and exercise is not detected. Studies comparing more paients are required on this subject. Keywords : Geriatric, autonomic function, exercise