Abstract
Age-related changes in hemodynamics and heart rate variability (HRV) as well as effects of low temperature and atmospheric pressure fluctuations on the cardiovascular functioning were investigated in normotensive Wistar rats of different age groups. In aging rats, decrease of systolic blood pressure (BPs) was not accompanied by considerable changes in heart rate (HR) or HRV. In none of the age groups a short exposure to the cold (30 min at 0 °С) caused stable changes in BPs and HR; however, recovery of the high-frequency HRV spectrum in 22-mo old rats took more time than in the other age groups. Atmospheric pressure fluctuations (10–15 mmHg) did not influence hemodynamics in 10-mo rats substantially. In 22-mo old rats, atmospheric pressure growth and decrease increased BPs. Besides, low atmospheric pressure was the reason of tachicardia and narrowing of the HRV high-frequency spectrum in this group. These data witness to the inhibition of vagus reactions to external environment stimuli in aged animals that may make them sensitive to climatic variations and compromise hemodynamics.
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