VascuFit: Exercise and Vascular Aging

Exercise is a cornerstone of health care helping to improve and maintain a good organ functionality, including vascular function, in health and disease. About twenty years ago, the introduction of high-intensity training has been a milestone in the evolution of exercise therapy by demonstrating the trainability of individuals independent of age and state of disease. Today, its practical implementation still faces barriers, such as lower physical and mental tolerance of exercise, long-term adherence and lack of individualization of training for optimal adaptations.

The proposed project is the logical next step to introduce non-linear periodized exercise training (NLPE), a method widely established in elite athletes, in exercise training of sedentary individuals. NLPE alternatingly involves person-centred periodization of training cycles and regeneration with high-intensity stimuli. It induces a broader range of physiological adaptations than moderate-intensity training while keeping a high compliance and without increasing the risk of overreaching. A study of patients with chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease and a study with resistance training of older adults indicated promising pulmonary and muscular effects. However, the effectiveness of NLPE to maintain and improve vascular function has not yet been assessed, although this may carry a huge clinical and socioeconomic potential by contributing to the reduction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

VascuFit applies an 8-week training intervention to assess the effects of NLPE on the function of the vascular endothelium, measured by the non-invasive gold-standard method brachial arterial flow-mediated dilation (baFMD), in a sample of sedentary aging adults with cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, it will be the first study to measure training effects on a cluster of micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) regulating key molecular pathways of endothelial (dys-)function. Thus, VascuFit aims to explore the potential of clinical and molecular biomarkers for the monitoring of individual vascular adaptability to a specific type of exercise. As a first step, this pilot-project is supposed to deliver proof-of-concept. Furthermore, it will generate important hypotheses to be addressed by exercise physiologists, medical professionals and biologists concerned with the optimization of individual training adaptations as well as utility and implementation of targeted training approaches in the health care of aging adults.

VascuFit aims to demonstrate the potential of NLPE as a training regimen to improve vascular function in sedentary individuals with elevated cardiovascular risk. This project may be the initial spark to raise exercise training to the next level, which is clearly necessary to sustainably strengthen the vascular capacities of "young" aging individuals.