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Acute effects of aerobic exercise duration on blood pressure, pulse wave velocity and cerebral blood flow velocity in middle-aged adults

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Abstract

Purpose

It is important to understand acute dose-response relationships on cardiovascular health and brain health. Thus, we evaluated the acute effects of 10- and 30-min exercise bout on blood pressure (BP), pulse wave velocity (PWV) and cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv).

Methods

Fifteen adults (mean age 45.4 ± 8.9 years, 87% female) participated in this randomized crossover study comprised of three acute experimental sessions: a 10-min exercise bout (EX10), a 30-min exercise bout (EX30) and a sitting control (SIT). Exercise consisted of walking on a treadmill at 70–75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate. BP, PWV and CBFv were measured 30 and 60 min after each experimental session. BP was obtained at the brachial artery while PWV was measured at the carotid-femoral and carotid-radial sites. CBFv was measured at the middle cerebral artery using a 2 MHz transcranial Doppler.

Results

Compared to SIT, BP was lower following EX10, and even lower following EX30 (P < 0.05). Though EX30 and SIT resulted in similar PWV responses (P > 0.05), EX10 resulted in a higher carotid-femoral PWV vs. EX30 and SIT at 30 min (both P = 0.02) and a lower carotid-radial PWV vs. SIT at 60 min (P = 0.004). CBFv did not differ across conditions (all P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that 10- and 30-min aerobic exercise bouts have differential effects on BP and PWV. CBFv did not change in the hour following either bout. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms and effects of 10- vs 30-min bouts of exercise.

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Abbreviations

bpm:

Beats per minute

BP:

Blood pressure

CBF:

Cerebral blood flow

CBFv:

Cerebral blood flow velocity

cfPWV:

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity

crPWV:

Carotid-radial pulse wave velocity

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

HR:

Heart rate

MCA:

Middle cerebral artery

PI:

Pulsatility Index

PP:

Pulse pressure

PWV:

Pulse wave velocity

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

TCD:

Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography

VO2max:

Maximal oxygen consumption

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education Student Research Grant for funding this study as well as the University of Pittsburgh’s K. Leroy Irvis Fellowship and the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center (P30 AG035982) for supporting Dr. Perdomo’s time. The authors would also like to thank our research assistants Nanami Mano, Tayler Magda, Celina Cantini and Elliot Fisher for their dedication to this study as well as our participants without which this study would not have been possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Physical Activity, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Sophy J. Perdomo, John M. Jakicic, Christopher E. Kline & Bethany Barone Gibbs

  2. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Jeffrey R. Balzer

  3. Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Mail Stop 2002, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA

    Sophy J. Perdomo

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  1. Sophy J. Perdomo
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  2. Jeffrey R. Balzer
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Correspondence to Sophy J. Perdomo.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Balzer reports no conflicts of interest. Dr. Perdomo discloses research funding from the National Institute on Aging and the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Dr. Barone Gibbs discloses research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Tomayko Foundation, Humanscale, the Virginia Kaufman Fund and the American Heart Association. Dr. Jakicic discloses his position on the scientific advisory board for Weight Watchers International and research funding from the National Institutes of Health, Weight Watchers International, and Humanscale. Dr. Kline discloses research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Perdomo, S.J., Balzer, J.R., Jakicic, J.M. et al. Acute effects of aerobic exercise duration on blood pressure, pulse wave velocity and cerebral blood flow velocity in middle-aged adults. Sport Sci Health 15, 647–658 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-019-00566-w

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