Effects of a 6-mo endurance-training program on venous compliance and maximal lower body negative pressure in older men and women

Aging and chronic exercise training influence leg venous compliance. Venous compliance affects responses to an orthostatic stress. The extent to which exercise training in a previously sedentary older population will affect venous compliance and tolerance to the simulated orthostatic stress of maximal lower body negative pressure (LBNP) is unknown. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the influence of a 6-mo endurance-training program on calf venous compliance and responses and tolerance to maximal LBNP in older men and women. Twenty participants (exercise group: n = 10, 5 men, 5 women; control group: n = 10, 6 men, 4 women; all >60 yr) underwent graded LBNP to presyncope or 4 min at −100 mmHg before and after a 6-mo endurance-training program. Utilizing venous occlusion plethysmography, calf venous compliance was determined in both groups using the first derivative of the pressure-volume relation during cuff pressure reduction before training, at 3 mo, and at the end of the training program. The exercise group improved their fitness with the 6-mo endurance-training program, whereas the control group did not change (14 ± 3 vs. <1 ± 2%; P < 0.05). LBNP tolerance did not differ between groups or across trials ( P = 0.47). Venous compliance was not different between groups or trials, either initially or after 3 mo of endurance training, but tended to be greater in the exercise group after 6 mo of training ( P = 0.08). These data suggest that a 6-mo endurance-training program may improve venous compliance without affecting tolerance to maximal LBNP in older participants.