Generation 100: Blood Volume and Cardiac Function in Healthy Aging

Generation 100: How Exercise Affects Mortality and Morbidity in the Elderly: A Randomized Control Study

Hypothesis: Exercise will reduce morbidity and mortality rates in an elderly population. The extent of reduction will be intensity dependent.

As part of the "Generation 100" study, this sub-study project will investigate the effect of exercise on blood volume, cardiopulmonary health and heart function in healthy aging. Objective is to determine the acute effect of one endurance training session on blood volume in healthy elderly. The working hypothesis is that one interval training session increases total blood volume by 10% in healthy elderly, and that there will be no change after moderate continuous training.

Inclusion Criteria:

• ability to walk at least 1km,
• born in 1938,1939,1940,1941 or 1942
• Sufficiently good health to be able to take part in the study, as determined by the researchers

Exclusion Criteria:

• Illness or disability that precludes exercise or hinders completion of the study
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Symptomatic valve disease, hyper tropic cardio-myopathy or unstable angina
• Active cancer
• Test results indicating that study participation is unsafe
• Inclusion in other studies conflicting with participation in this one