Cardiovascular Response and Serum Interleukin-6 Level in Concentric Vs. Eccentric Exercise

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Cardiovascular Health
• Immunology

Background:

• Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is a major health concern in India.
• Resistance exercise is crucial for CVD prevention programs.
• Myokines, like Interleukin-6 (IL-6), are released by muscles during exercise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare cardiovascular responses and serum IL-6 levels between concentric and eccentric exercise at the same workload.
• Investigate the physiological effects of different dynamic resistance exercise phases.

Main Methods:

• A non-randomized crossover study involving 24 healthy young males.
• Acute bouts of concentric and eccentric exercise were performed.
• Measurements included Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Heart Rate (HR), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Pulse Pressure (PP), and serum IL-6 levels before and after exercise.

Main Results:

• Both exercise types significantly increased SBP, HR, MAP, PP, DBP, and IL-6.
• Concentric exercise induced significantly higher increases in SBP, HR, MAP, PP, and IL-6 compared to eccentric exercise.
• DBP showed a non-significant increase after both concentric and eccentric exercise.

Conclusions:

• Eccentric exercise demonstrated lower cardiovascular demand than concentric exercise.
• Eccentric exercise led to a significant increase in IL-6 levels.
• Eccentric exercise may be a recommended training modality for CVD prevention and management.