Effects of A Single Bout of Cycling Exercise on Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV)in Healthy Middle-Aged Individuals

Abstract

[Purpose] In this study, the brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) was measured continuously from before to after a single bout of cycling exercise in healthy middle-aged individuals to evaluate the immediate changes associated with short-time exercise. [Subjects] We examined the effects of a bout of low-intensity leg cycling exercise (60 watt, 5 min) on pulse wave velocity from the brachial to the ankle arteries (baPWV) in 7 healthy middle-aged individuals. [Methods] The baPWV and heart rate (HR) were measured using a Form PWV/ABI (Nihon Colin) twice at 5-minute intervals during the rest before exercising, every 3 minutes for 15 minutes from immediately after the end of exercise, and 20 minutes after the end of exercise. The reproducibility of the resting baPWV before exercise was examined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and changes in baPWV between before and after exercise were examined by Wilcoxon’s rank sum test. [Results] After the exercise, baPWV remained significantly decreased 7% for 20 min, despite the recoveries of the heart rate and blood pressure to pre-exercise levels. [Conclusion] These results suggest that a single bout of low-intensity cycling exercise decreases arterial stiffness following of normal subjects dynamic exercise.