Cardiorespiratory fitness in elderly women enrolled in a community center in the City of Coari, Amazonas State, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT

With advancing age, several functional changes associated with aging affect the health and quality of life of the elderly. Some changes develop in the cardiovascular system, which becomes greatly compromised, mainly due to decreased cellular metabolism. The decrease in metabolism leads to the development of cardiovascular diseases, which are considered the major cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly. The assessment of global and integrated responses of the systems involved in physical activities by the elderly is important, as it can allow for the implementation of different means of intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in cardiorespiratory fitness between older practitioners and non-practitioners of the physical activities offered by a Centro de Convivência do Idoso (Elderly Community Center) in a city located in the countryside of Amazonas State by applying the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). For this study, 30 elderly women, including 15 practitioners (G1) and 15 non-practitioners (G2), were evaluated with the 6MWT. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (O₂ Sat), and subjective perception of dyspnea (Borg scale) were measured. Initial O₂ Sat, distance walked in the 6MWT, and Borg score were significantly different between groups (p < 0.001). Final O₂ Sat, initial and final HR, initial and final systolic BP, and initial and final diastolic BP were not significantly different between groups. Based on these results, we conclude that the physical activities offered to the elderly at the Centro de Convivência do Idoso may have improved or helped maintain the cardiorespiratory endurance of the women in the study group; however, a better outcome might have been achieved if the elderly women had been supervised by a trained professional during the physical activities.