Arterial stiffness assessed by pulse wave velocity in young athletes practicing endurance or intense resistance training

Objective. - Arterial stiffness was assessed in endurance trained-athletes (ETA), intense resistance-trained athletes (IRTA) and healthy sedentary controls. Materials and Methods. - One hundred and thirty participants (20-30 years old) including 46 IRTA (weightlifters), 42 ETA (long and middle distance runners) and 42 sedentary individuals (SED) had aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement and pulse wave analysis by applanation tonometry and the primary endpoint was PWV. Results. - Heart rate at rest and augmentation index was lower in trained participants than in sedentary individuals. Brachial and aortic blood pressures were lower in ETA compared to IRTA. Mean (SD) aortic PWV was significantly lower in ETA compared to IRTA and SED: 5.58 (1.00) m/s, 7.06 (0.87) m/s and 7.18 (1.06) m/s (P < 0.05), respectively. A subgroup analysis comparing women and men found comparable results for PWV, but women had higher heart rate at rest and lower brachial and central blood pressures compared to men. Multiple regression analysis showed that diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was the only hemodynamic parameter correlated to PWV. Conclusion. - Aortic stiffness is influenced by exercise modalities since ETA had better PWV than IRTA. DBP is an important determinant of arterial stiffening in young adults. (c) 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.