The Impact of 12 Weeks of Aerobic Exercise on Serum Levels of Cardiotrophin-1, Blood Pressure and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Hypertensive Elderly Women

Background and Objective: Various biomarkers lead to the incidence of pathologic left ventricular hypertrophy such as Cardiotrophin-1. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of 12 weeks of aerobic exercise on serum levels of cardiotrophin-1, blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive elderly women. Materials and Methods: In this study, 40 women aged 50 to 70 years old were selected and assigned to two groups of control and experimenytal based on their body fat percentage and body mass index. The training program included aerobic exercises which were conducted increasingly, 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Before the training, and 24 hours after the last session, blood samples and echocardiography data were collected and analysed using paired sample t-test and independent t-test at a significance level of p=≤ 0.05. Results: There were significant differences in left ventricular wall thickness (p= 0.0001) and systolic blood pressure (p= 0.03), but there was no significant difference between cardiotrophin-1 (p= 0.54) and diastolic blood pressure (p= 0.14). Conclusion: The results of this study assert that aerobic exercises bring about positive effects on heart functioning, reverse diastolic dysfunction, and left ventricular hypertrophy. Also, it was indicated that Cardiotrophin-1 response and release depend on the intensity and duration of exercises.