Edward F. Adolph Distinguished Lecture: The remarkable anti-aging effects of aerobic exercise on systemic arteries

markable anti-aging effects of aerobic exercise on systemic arter-ies. J Appl Physiol 117: 425 – 439, 2014. First published May 22, 2014; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00362.2014.—Cardiovascular dis-eases (CVD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in modern societies, and advancing age is the major risk factor for CVD. Arterial dysfunction, characterized by large elastic artery stiffening and endothelial dysfunction, is the key event leading to age-associated CVD. Our work shows that regular aerobic exercise inhibits large elastic artery stiffening with aging (optimizes arterial compliance) and preserves endothelial function. Importantly, among previously seden-tary late middle-aged and older adults, aerobic exercise improves arterial stiffness and enhances endothelial function in most groups and, therefore, also can be considered a treatment for age-associated arterial dysfunction. The mechanisms by which regular aerobic exer-cise destiffens large elastic arteries are incompletely understood, bu