Acute moderate exercise in healthy subjects significantly increased main pulmonary artery pulse wave velocity from 1.6 m/s at rest to 3.6 m/s and decreased relative area change from 0.34 to 0.24.
Cross-Sectional (n=21)
No
Does exercise stress alter pulmonary artery stiffness measured non-invasively by cardiovascular magnetic resonance in healthy subjects?
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance can non-invasively detect increases in main pulmonary artery stiffness during acute moderate exercise in healthy subjects.
Absolute Event Rate: 3.6% vs 1.6%
p-value: p=<0.05
BACKGROUND: Exercise stress tests are commonly used in clinical settings to monitor the functional state of the heart and vasculature. Large artery stiffness is one measure of arterial function that can be quantified noninvasively during exercise stress. Changes in proximal pulmonary artery stiffness are especially relevant to the progression of pulmonary hypertension (PH), since pulmonary artery (PA) stiffness is the best current predictor of mortality from right ventricular failure. METHODS: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) was used to investigate the effect of exercise stress on PA pulse wave velocity (PWV) and relative area change (RAC), which are both non-invasive measures of PA stiffness, in healthy subjects. All 21 subjects (average age 26 ± 4 years; 13 female and 8 male) used a custom-made MR-compatible stepping device to exercise (two stages of mild-to-moderate exercise of 3-4 min duration each) in a supine position within the confines of the scanner. To measure the cross-sectional area and blood flow velocity in the main PA (MPA), two-dimensional phase-contrast (2D-PC) CMR images were acquired. To measure the reproducibility of metrics, CMR images were analyzed by two independent observers. Inter-observer agreements were calculated using the intraclass correlation and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: From rest to the highest level of exercise, cardiac output increased from 5.9 ± 1.4 L/min to 8.2 ± 1.9 L/min (p < 0.05), MPA PWV increased from 1.6 ± 0.5 m/s to 3.6 ± 1.4 m/s (p < 0.05), and MPA RAC decreased from 0.34 ± 0.11 to 0.24 ± 0.1 (p < 0.05). While PWV also increased from the first to second exercise stage (from 2.7 ± 1.0 m/s to 3.6 ± 1.4 m/s, p < 0.05), there was no significant change in RAC between the two exercise stages. We found good inter-observer agreement for quantification of MPA flow, RAC and PWV. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that metrics of MPA stiffness increase in response to acute moderate exercise in healthy subjects and that CMR exercise stress offers great potential in clinical practice to noninvasively assess vascular function.
Forouzan et al. (Thu,) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy (n=21). Acute moderate exercise vs. Rest was evaluated on Main pulmonary artery pulse wave velocity (MPA PWV) (p=<0.05). Acute moderate exercise in healthy subjects significantly increased main pulmonary artery pulse wave velocity from 1.6 m/s at rest to 3.6 m/s and decreased relative area change from 0.34 to 0.24.