Raising the Bar on Health: Can one year of endurance exercise training enhance vascular function in healthy individuals?

Physiology in Focus 2024 (Northumbria University, UK) (2024) Proc Physiol Soc 59, C12

Oral Communications: Raising the Bar on Health: Can one year of endurance exercise training enhance vascular function in healthy individuals?

Marcos Paulo Rocha Alves1, Casper Sejersen1, Mads Fischer1, Andrea Tamirezz-Ellemann1, Lasse Gliemann1,

1The August Krogh Section for Human Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen Denmark,

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Introduction: Endurance exercise training improves aerobic capacity and endothelial function in people with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease by augmenting nitric oxide synthesis through the shear stress mechanism. However, whether long-term endurance exercise enhances vascular function concomitant with aerobic capacity in healthy individuals is unclear. We hypothesized that long-term endurance exercise training improves aerobic capacity and enhances global vascular function in healthy individuals. Aim: To determine the impact of one year of supervised endurance exercise training on healthy individuals' vascular function and aerobic capacity. Materials and Methods: Over one year, seven health subjects (4 males and 3 females; 25 ± 5.2 yrs, 74.8 ± 14.6 kg) engaged in regular supervised cycling training three times per week, 60 minutes for each section. Aerobic capacity (V̇O2max) was assessed at entry (Baseline) and after 1, 2, 6, and 12 months; forearm vascular function was assessed at Baseline, 1, 4, 6, and 12 months. Catheters (20-gauge arterial cannula; BD) were placed in the brachial artery to measure arterial pressure and for drug infusion. Endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation were estimated by a cumulative increase in infusion rates of acetylcholine (10, 25, and 100 μg/L/min) and sodium nitroprusside (1.5, 3, and 6 μg/L/min). Mean arterial pressure (MAP), brachial artery diameter (BA), and blood velocity (BV) were simultaneously quantified (Doppler ultrasound) at the last 30 sec of each infusion rate. Blood flow (BF) was calculated as BV • π • (BA/2)2 • 60. Statistical analysis: Data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to calculate the total BF response for each drug infusion. The AUC was calculated as the sum of the three infusion rates over the last 30-second period above the baseline values representing the total BF (100/ml.min-1). Data are expressed as mean±SD, with statistical significance accepted at p < 0.05. Ethical: The local institutional review board approved the study, and the subjects gave written informed consent. Results: Six months after the commencement of cycling training, a significant improvement in aerobic capacity was evident, with an increase in V̇O2max from 40.1 ml.min-1.kg-1 to 50.8 ml.min-1.kg-1; p = 0.02. This enhancement continued over a year, resulting in an increase in V̇O2max by 28 % (Baseline 40.1 ml.min-1.kg-1 vs. 12 months, 51.3 ml.min-1.kg-1; p = 0.04). The MAP remained stable during pharmacological challenges at all infusion rates and visits. The BF response curve (AUC) to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside across different visits was not different from baseline at any timepoint (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The preliminary results confirm that a year-long supervised endurance exercise training significantly increases aerobic capacity in healthy individuals. Contrary to our hypothesis, increased aerobic capacity was not followed by increased vascular function, suggesting that vascular health is already at its optimum in those who are untrained yet healthy subjects.



Where applicable, experiments conform with Society ethical requirements.

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