Abstract
Purpose
To examine the acute influence of caffeine on post-exercise central blood pressures, arterial stiffness, and wave reflection properties.
Methods
In a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover study design, ten middle-aged males (55 ± 5 year) completed two exercise trials after ingestion of caffeine (400 mg) or placebo. Measurements were taken before and 30 min post-ingestion via cuff-based pulse wave analysis (PWA) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Participants performed a 40-min cycling bout at 70% HRmax with matched workloads between trials. PWA and PWV were reassessed 30 min post-exercise.
Results
Prior to exercise, compared to placebo, caffeine increased brachial systolic blood pressure (bSBP) (+ 12.3 ± 2.4 mmHg; p = 0.004), brachial diastolic blood pressure (bDBP) (+ 7.7 ± 0.9 mmHg; p = 0.011), central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) (+ 11.1 ± 2.1 mmHg; p = 0.005) and central diastolic blood pressure (cDBP) (+ 7.6 ± 1.0 mmHg; p = 0.012). PWV was higher 30 min after pill ingestion (p = 0.021 for time) with a trend for a greater increase in caffeine (p = 0.074 for interaction). bSBP (p = 0.036) and cSBP (p = 0.007) were lower after exercise but remained higher (both p < 0.001) in caffeine compared to placebo. PWV remained higher (p = 0.023) after exercise in caffeine compared to placebo but was not influenced by exercise. At rest, augmentation pressure (AP) and index (AIx) were not influenced by caffeine ingestion. Conversely, AIx was lower (p = 0.009) after exercise in placebo only.
Conclusion
In healthy and active middle-aged men, pre-exercise caffeine ingestion led to higher central and peripheral systolic blood pressures, PWV and AIx at 30 min post-exercise, indicating an increased left ventricular workload which may have implications for cardiovascular event risk.
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Availability of data and materials
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- AIx:
-
Augmentation index
- AIx@75:
-
Augmentation index at heart rate of 75 bpm
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- AP:
-
Augmentation pressure
- bSBP:
-
Brachial systolic blood pressure
- bDBP:
-
Brachial diastolic blood pressure
- cfPWV:
-
Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity
- cSBP:
-
Central systolic blood pressure
- cDBP:
-
Central diastolic blood pressure
- CEP:
-
Clinical exercise physiology
- CV:
-
Cardiovascular
- CVD:
-
Cardiovascular disease
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- MAP:
-
Mean arterial pressure
- PWA:
-
Pulse wave analysis
- PWV:
-
Pulse wave velocity
- RPE:
-
Rating of perceived exertion
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Brittany Smith for assistance with data collection. The authors have no relationships to disclose. The results of the study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
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M.H., A.S., and B.K. conceived research question and designed the experimental protocol. M.H. and A.S. were responsible for data collection. M.H., A.S., and B.F. analyzed the data and M.H., A.S., N.C., B.K., and B.F. contributed to data interpretation. MH and AS were primarily responsible for writing of the manuscript and all authors have read and approved the manuscript.
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Each participant provided written informed consent as approved by the Institutional Review Board at Ball State University. This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down by the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki.
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Harber, M.P., McCurry, A., Carlini, N. et al. Caffeine ingestion alters central hemodynamics following aerobic exercise in middle-aged men. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 435–443 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04521-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04521-3