Acute Effects of Submaximal Endurance Training on Arterial Stiffness in Healthy Middle‐ and Long‐Distance Runners

Measures of arterial stiffness are indicators for cardiovascular health and predictors of cardiovascular events. Arterial stiffness is responsive to acute physiologic stressors such as exercise. However, the acute effects of intensive exercise and recovery on arterial stiffness are controversial. Thirty-seven healthy middle- and long-distance runners (33 men, mean age 26.5±6.6 years) underwent evaluation of their cardiovascular stiffness at rest, after a 15-minute warm-up, immediately after vigorous running 3 km at the pace of their 10-km personal best, and finally 30 minutes after terminating their workout. Peripheral and central systolic blood pressure, as well as augmentation index and pulse wave velocity (PWV), increased during exercise in comparison to baseline (P<.001, general linear model). Thirty minutes after terminating the workout, a drop in peripheral blood pressure (P<.001), central blood pressure (P<.001), and PWV (P=.001) below baseline was observed. Therefore, the authors found that exercise of either moderate or vigorous intensity causes a temporary increase in arterial stiffness in middle- and long-distance runners.