Older individuals are more likely than younger adults to exhibit sympt
oms of exercise intolerance at high work rates. The risks of maximal e
xercise in older adults increase proportionally as the number of healt
h difficulties increase. In this study, the effects of health status,
age, and gender on older adults' ability to attain (V) over dot O-2 ma
x are examined. Sedentary volunteers (60 women, 45 men) mean age 67 +/
- 5 years (range 57-78 years), participated in graded maximal exercise
tests on a combined arm and leg cycle ergometer. Subjects were classi
fied into three groups based on test termination reason: attainment of
(V) over dot O-2 max (MAX), symptom-limited (SX), or EKG-limited (ERG
). Sixty per cent of men and 40% of women were classified as MAX, whil
e 48% of women and 27% of men were characterized as SX. Thirteen perce
nt of men and 12% of women had EKG-limited exercise tests. Those in th
e EKG group reported significantly more diagnoses than subjects in the
MAX group (2.7 vs. 1.4, p <.05). The number of medications reported a
nd age of the subjects did not differ across test termination categori
es.