Does a Two-week High-intensity Treadmill Exercise Improve Arterial Stiffness?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a two-week high-intensity treadmill exercise improves arterial stiffness. Twenty-six young healthy subjects completed a 30-min treadmill exercise at 70% of their peak oxygen uptake 5 days/week. We measured pressure-strain elastic modulus (Ep) and stiffness parameter (β) of the left common carotid artery at rest with ultrasonic diagnostic equipment before and after a two-week exercise. After the exercise, the pulse pressure did not change significantly. However, pulsatile changes in diameter increased significantly, which decreased Ep and β significantly.