Key result
Long-distance walking over 4 days did not cause harmful alterations in arterial stiffness and significantly reduced central systolic blood pressure from 110.2 to 101 mmHg on the first day.
Why the study?
The cardiovascular effects of long-distance and long-duration activities and their relationship with arterial stiffness and cardiac biomarkers remain unclear.
Does long-distance walking alter arterial stiffness, central blood pressure, and cardiac biomarkers in men?
Observational (n=25)
Does long-distance walking alter arterial stiffness, central blood pressure, and cardiac biomarkers in men?
Absolute Event Rate: 101% vs 110.2%
p-value: p=0.035
Long-distance walking over 4 days reduced peripheral and central systolic blood pressure without causing harmful alterations in arterial stiffness.
Long-distance walking did not harm arterial stiffness; leaves open questions on biomarker correlations in endurance exercise.
The cardiovascular effects of long-distance and -duration activities and their relationship with arterial stiffness and cardiac biomarkers are still unclear. This study aimed to assess arterial stiffness and Central Blood Pressure (cBP) and correlate them with cardiac biomarkers in long-distance walkers (271 km in 4 days). This longitudinal study assessed Peripheral Systolic Blood Pressure (pSBP), Peripheral Diastolic Blood Pressure (pDBP), Central Systolic Blood Pressure (cSBP), Central Diastolic Blood Pressure (cDBP), Pulse-Wave Velocity (PWV), Central Pulse Pressure (cPP), Augmentation Index (AIx), and total vascular resistance, using the Mobil-O-Graph® device and biomarkers creatine kinase-MB, troponin T, and brain natriuretic peptide. All items were assessed 30 days before the event (A0) and at the end of the 1st (A1), 2nd (A2), 3rd (A3), and 4th (A4) days of walk. Data were analyzed using Stata Software and p -values <0.05 were considered significant. This study included 25 men, with mean age of 46 ± 10.5 years and body mass index of 20.2 ± 2.3 kg/m 2 . pSBP level reduced from A0 (122.8 ± 2.2) to A1 (111.6 ± 2.1) ( p = 0.004) and cSBP level reduced from A0 (110.2 ± 2.2) to A1 (101 ± 1.8) ( p = 0.035). CK-MB enzyme correlated with PVR in both A1 ( r = 0.445, p < 0.033) and A4 ( r = 0.554, p < 0.006). Troponin T showed correlation at A4 with cSBP ( r = 0.468, p < 0.024) and pSBP ( r = 0.470, p < 0.023). There was no change in PWV. This study showed that this exercise modality did not cause harmful alterations related to arterial stiffness behavior.
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Sousa et al. (2019) conducted an observational in Healthy long-distance walkers (n=25). Long-distance walking (271 km in 4 days) vs. Baseline (30 days before event) was evaluated on Central Systolic Blood Pressure (cSBP) at day 1 (p=0.035). Long-distance walking over 4 days did not cause harmful alterations in arterial stiffness and significantly reduced central systolic blood pressure from 110.2 to 101 mmHg on the first day.
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