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Figure 2 Comparisons by analysis of variance of rest and exercise effective arterial elastance index (EaI) (A) and ventricular elastance index (E_LVI) (B) in men (dashed lines) and women (solid lines) <40 years of age (solid triangles) (mean age, 32.4 ± 4.7 years and 31.2 ± 4.9 years, respectively) and >60 years of age (solid squares) (mean age, 68.9 ± 6.8 years and 70.4 ± 7.1 years, respectively); EaI increases from rest to exercise in both age groups and genders (p 0.0001). At maximal exercise, EaI is greater in older women than in younger women (p 0.002), even though heart rate, which is a determinant of EaI, is greater at peak exercise in younger versus older women. In contrast, there is no difference in the EaI between the two age groups in men, even though heart rate is also significantly higher in younger versus older men at peak exercise; E_LVI increases with exercise (p 0.0001) in both age groups and genders. At maximal exercise, E_LVI is greater in younger men compared with older men (p 0.0001) and tended to be greater in younger women than in older women (p = 0.07).