Professional athletes had lower pulse wave velocity (6.4 vs 7.2 m/s, p=0.001) and SBP/Watt slope (0.34 vs 0.44 mmHg/W, p<0.001) than controls, though vascular function was unrelated to wiBPR.
Cross-Sectional (n=125)
How does workload-indexed blood pressure response to exercise and resting vascular function differ between professional athletes and healthy controls?
Professional athletes exhibit lower resting pulse wave velocity and lower workload-indexed blood pressure responses to exercise compared to controls, suggesting potential utility of these metrics in pre-participation screening.
Absolute Event Rate: 0.34% vs 0.44%
p-value: p=<0.001
Workload-indexed blood pressure response (wiBPR) to exercise has been shown to be superior to peak systolic blood pressure (SBP) in predicting mortality in healthy men. Thus far, however, markers of wiBPR have not been evaluated for athletes and the association with vascular function is unclear. We examined 95 male professional athletes (26±5 y) and 30 male controls (26±4 y). We assessed vascular functional parameters at rest and wiBPR with a graded bicycle ergometer test and compared values for athletes with those of controls. Athletes had a lower pulse wave velocity (6.4±0.9 vs. 7.2±1.5 m/s, p=0.001) compared to controls. SBP/Watt slope (0.34±0.13 vs. 0.44±0.12 mmHg/W), SBP/MET slope (6.2±1.8 vs. 7.85±1.8 mmHg/MET) and peak SBP/Watt ratio (0.61±0.12 vs. 0.95±0.17 mmHg/W) were lower in athletes than in controls (p<0.001). The SBP/Watt and SBP/MET slope in athletes were comparable to the reference values, whereas the peak SBP/Watt-ratio was lower. All vascular functional parameters measured were not significantly correlated to the wiBPR in either athletes or controls. In conclusion, our findings indicate the potential use of the SBP/Watt and SBP/MET slope in pre-participation screening of athletes. Further, vascular functional parameters, measured at rest, were unrelated to the wiBPR in athletes and controls.
Bauer et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy men (professional athletes and controls) (n=125). Professional athletic training vs. Controls was evaluated on SBP/Watt slope (p=<0.001). Professional athletes had lower pulse wave velocity (6.4 vs 7.2 m/s, p=0.001) and SBP/Watt slope (0.34 vs 0.44 mmHg/W, p<0.001) than controls, though vascular function was unrelated to wiBPR.