Abbreviations
- central arterial stiffness: CAS
- pulse wave velocity: PWV
- augmentation index corrected for heart rate at a heart rate of 75 bpm: AIx@75
Introduction (Sebastian)
In addition to depicting a hallmark of ageing, increasing central arterial stiffness (CAS) referring to reduced distensibility and buffering capacity
of arteries against pulsatile cardiac load (Avolio, 2013 -> Haapala, 2018) is closely related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (Shirwany, 2010). Since exercise was shown to attenuate various cardiovascular risk factors (Nocon, 2008 -> s. Ashor, 2014), different studies have investigated the effects of physical activity on CAS exhibiting equivocal results. A current meta-analysis indicates that the effects of physical activity on CAS strongly depend on exercise mode, i. e. strength- or endurance-type (Sardelli, 2018). Therefore, the aim of the present investigation was to compare 24 sport students of both sexes and various athletic backgrounds in regard to two simply assessable, non-invasive measures of CAS.
Methods (Caro)
Participants:
This study was performed by 24 non-smoking, normotensive, healthy athletes (mean +/- standard deviation, age: 25.5 +/- 2.6 (range: 22-32) years, height: 174.6 +/- 6.3 cm, weight: 72.6 +/- 11.5 kg; 14 male, 10 female).
Study design:
The subjects were tested in a seated position with a cuff placed on their right upper arm. The oscillometric pulse wave analysis (, an indirect method with good agreement with invasive measurements (Horvath, 2010),) was performed at rest by using a Mobil-O-Graph. (Next to automatically measured parameters including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse pressure,--> weglassen, wenn zu viel --> stattdessen:) Cardiovascular parameters including pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) were analyzed as measures of CAS. AIx was calculated as the increment in pressure from the first shoulder of aortic waveform to the peak of the wave (PAug), expressed as a percentage of the pulse pressure (PP) shown in the formula \(AIx\ \left(\%\right)=\left[\frac{\left(P_{Aug}\right)}{PP}\right]\cdot100\) and corrected for heart rate of 75 bpm (AIx@75) (see Figure 1) . PWV was computed from the time difference
between the first shoulder (t1) and the peak of the wave (t2) and was related to the distance between jugulum and symphysis shown in the formula \(PWV\ \left(\frac{m}{s}\right)=\frac{Jug\ -\ Sy\ }{\frac{\left(t_2-t_1\right)}{2}}\). (-> wir könnten auch beide Formeln untereinander schreiben, dann nummerieren und im Text darauf verweisen)