title: Aerobic exercise performance correlates with post-ischemic flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery in young healthy men.
abstract: In older healthy men, aerobic exercise capacity is related to postischemic flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery (FMD), but corresponding data in a younger population is not available. In addition, whether submaximal aerobic exercise performance also correlates with this kind of vasomotor reactivity is not known. Therefore, in 15 nonsmoking young healthy men [age 27 (5) years; body mass index: 24 (2) kg/m(2); mean (SD)] with different levels of ordinary physical activity, but not performing upper-extremity training, we measured FMD at 1 min after reactive hyperemia, and pulmonary oxygen uptake (VO(2)) at ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VO(2)AT) and at peak effort (peak VO(2)) during an incremental exercise on a treadmill. In our participants, FMD was 9.1 (3.4)%, VO(2)AT was 40.72 (5.92) ml/kg per min, and peak VO(2) was 52.95 (8.13) ml/kg per min. Using bivariate Pearson's correlation, and in separate multivariate regression analyses, VO(2)AT and peak VO(2) showed a significant and reasonably good correlation with FMD (r = 0.84, P < 0.001 and r = 0.77, P = 0.001, respectively), independent of age, body mass index and serum total cholesterol (beta = 0.77, P < 0.001, R(2) of the overall model = 0.79 and beta = 0.70, P < 0.005, R(2) of the overall model = 0.69, respectively). Our data provide evidence suggesting that in young healthy men a higher submaximal and maximal aerobic exercise performance is associated with a greater FMD of peripheral conduit arteries.
authors.affiliation: Departimento di Medicina Clinica e Scienze Cardiovascolari, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy. eapalmieri@ciaoweb.it
authors.forename: Emiliano Antonio
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Palmieri
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Palmieri
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Innelli
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arezzi
authors.forename: Liberato Aldo
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ferrara
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celentano
authors.forename: Serafino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fazio
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis / Q000502:physiology; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology