Key result
Head-out aquatic exercise training did not significantly reduce brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in the overall cohort of middle-aged and elderly adults (from 1537 to 1496 cm/s, p=0.24), but significantly decreased it in the healthy subgroup.
Why the study?
Aquatic exercise mitigates weight-bearing stress in older adults, but its effect on arterial stiffness remains unclear.
Does a supervised head-out aquatic exercise training program improve arterial stiffness in middle-aged and elderly people?
Observational (n=25)
No
Does a supervised head-out aquatic exercise training program improve arterial stiffness in middle-aged and elderly people?
Regular head-out aquatic exercise, even at a low frequency of once per week, may reduce arterial stiffness in apparently healthy middle-aged and older individuals, though it may not be effective in those with existing CVD risk.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support targeted aquatic exercise trials in healthy older adults; leaves open efficacy and does not support broad use.
Aquatic exercise is ideal for older adults because it mitigates weight-bearing stress. However, the effect of head-out aquatic exercise on arterial stiffness, a strong future cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, remains unclear. We determined whether head-out aquatic exercise would mitigate arterial stiffness in middle-aged and elderly people. In 25 middle-aged and older people (9 men, mean age 64 ± 8 years), blood pressure (BP) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were measured before and after a supervised aquatic exercise training program (60 min, 1 session/week, 14 sessions) which mainly consisted of walking, stretching, and muscle strengthening in water. In the pooled subjects, systolic BP tended to decrease (p = 0.07) after the training intervention, whereas no significant changes were observed, including baPWV (from 1,537 ± 301 to 1,496 ± 308 cm/s). In the sub-analysis, by dividing subjects into a healthy group (n = 13) and a CVD risk group (n = 12), no significant interaction between time and group was seen in BP. On the other hand, baPWV decreased significantly in the healthy group (from 1,476 ± 299 to 1,365 ± 215 cm/s) but not in the CVD risk group (from 1,603 ± 301 to 1,637 ± 339 cm/s). The current study demonstrates that regular head-out aquatic exercise, even at a low frequency, could mitigate CVD risk in apparently healthy middle-aged and older people.
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Fukuie et al. (2019) conducted an observational in Arterial stiffness in middle-aged and elderly people (n=25). Head-out aquatic exercise training vs. Baseline (before intervention) was evaluated on Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) (p=0.24). Head-out aquatic exercise training did not significantly reduce brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in the overall cohort of middle-aged and elderly adults (from 1537 to 1496 cm/s, p=0.24), but significantly decreased it in the healthy subgroup.
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