Key result
Adult survivors of prematurity show higher aortic pulse wave velocity and exercise-induced hypertension versus term controls.
Why the study?
Adults born prematurely have an increased risk of early heart failure, but little is known regarding the impact of prematurity on the systemic vasculature.
Does premature birth affect aortic stiffness and blood pressure response to exercise in adulthood?
Cohort (n=22)
Does premature birth affect aortic stiffness and blood pressure response to exercise in adulthood?
Adult survivors of prematurity exhibit increased large artery stiffness and exercise-induced hypertension compared to term-born controls, indicating underlying vascular abnormalities.
Suggests cardiovascular monitoring for adult preterm survivors; hypothesis-generating for mechanisms and interventions.
Objectives Adults born prematurely have an increased risk of early heart failure. The impact of prematurity on left and right ventricular function has been well documented, but little is known about the impact on the systemic vasculature. The goals of this study were to measure aortic stiffness and the blood pressure response to physiological stressors; in particular, normoxic and hypoxic exercise. Methods Preterm participants (n = 10) were recruited from the Newborn Lung Project Cohort and matched with term-born, age-matched subjects (n = 12). Aortic pulse wave velocity was derived from the brachial arterial waveform and the heart rate and blood pressure responses to incremental exercise in normoxia (21% O2) or hypoxia (12% O2) were evaluated. Results Aortic pulse wave velocity was higher in the preterm groups. Additionally, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure were higher throughout the normoxic exercise bout, consistent with higher conduit artery stiffness. Hypoxic exercise caused a decline in diastolic pressure in this group, but not in term-born controls. Conclusions In this first report of the blood pressure response to exercise in adults born prematurely, we found exercise-induced hypertension relative to a term-born control group that is associated with increased large artery stiffness. These experiments performed in hypoxia reveal abnormalities in vascular function in adult survivors of prematurity that may further deteriorate as this population ages.
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Barnard et al. (2020) conducted a cohort in Adult survivors of prematurity (n=22). Normoxic and hypoxic exercise vs. Term-born controls was evaluated on Aortic pulse wave velocity and blood pressure response to exercise. Adult survivors of prematurity exhibited higher aortic pulse wave velocity and exercise-induced hypertension during normoxic exercise compared to term-born controls.
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