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Arterial stiffness and wave reflections in marathon runners
Charalambos Vlachopoulos1, Despina Kardara, Aris Anastasakis
1Peripheral Vessels Unit, Special Heart Centre for Young and Athletes and Unit of Inherited Cardiac Diseases, 1st Department of Cardiology, Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece. cvlachop@otenet.gr
American Journal of Hypertension
|May 22, 2010
Summary
Marathon runners show increased aortic stiffness and pressures but no chronic change in wave reflections. An acute marathon race significantly reduces wave reflections and blood pressure, without altering aortic stiffness.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Exercise Science
- Sports Medicine
Background:
- Aerobic exercise benefits cardiovascular health.
- Marathon running is a vigorous exercise.
- Arterial stiffness and wave reflections predict cardiovascular risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the acute effects of marathon running on aortic stiffness and wave reflections.
- Examine chronic alterations in these parameters in marathon runners.
Main Methods:
- Compared 49 marathon runners to 46 controls.
- Measured aortic stiffness using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV).
- Assessed wave reflections with augmentation index (AIx).
- Evaluated a subgroup of 20 runners post-race.
Main Results:
- Marathon runners exhibited higher aortic pressures and PWV compared to controls.
- No significant chronic difference in AIx or AIx corrected for heart rate (AIx@75) was found.
- Post-race, AIx and AIx@75 significantly decreased, while PWV remained unchanged.
- Systolic, diastolic, and mean pressures also decreased post-race.
Conclusions:
- Marathon running acutely reduces wave reflections and blood pressure.
- Chronic marathon running is associated with increased aortic stiffness and pressures.
- Wave reflection indexes do not show chronic alterations in marathon runners.
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