Short-term aerobic exercise reduces arterial stiffness in older adults with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.

Madden KM, Lockhart C, Cuff D, Potter TF, Meneilly GS.

The relationship between increased arterial stiffness and cardiovascular mortality is well established in type 2 diabetes. This study examined whether aerobic exercise could reduce arterial stiffness in older adults with type 2 diabetes complicated by comorbid hypertension and hyperlipidemia. 36 older adults with diet-controlled or oral hypoglycemic-controlled type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an aerobic group (3 months vigorous aerobic exercise) and a nonaerobic group (no aerobic exercise). Exercise sessions were supervised by a certified exercise trainer three times per week, and a combination of cycle ergometers and treadmills was used. When the two groups were compared, aerobic training resulted in a decrease in measures of both radial and femoral pulse-wave velocity despite the fact that aerobic fitness as assessed by Vo(2max) did not demonstrate an improvement with training.

The findings of this study indicate that a relatively short aerobic exercise intervention in older adults can reduce multifactorial arterial stiffness (type 2 diabetes, aging, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia).

Diabetes Care. 2009 Aug;32(8):1531-5

Link to abstract

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