title: Treadmill walking with load carriage increases aortic pressure wave reflection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study examined the effects of treadmill walking with load carriage on derived measures of central pressure and augmentation index in young healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen male subjects (age 31.0 ± 1.0 years) volunteered in this study. Subjects walked 10 minutes on a treadmill at a speed of 5 km/h carrying no load during one session and a load of 10% of their body weight on both upper limbs in two water carboys with handle during the other session. Pulse wave analysis was performed at rest and immediately after exercise in the radial artery of the right upper limb by applanation tonometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main result indicates that walking with load carriage sharply increased augmentation index at 75 bpm (-5.5 ± 2.2 to -1.4 ± 2.2% vs. -5.2 ± 2.8 to -5.5 ± 2.1%, p<0.05), and also induced twice as high increments in central pulse pressure (7.4 ± 1.5 vs. 3.1 ± 1.4 mmHg, p<0.05) and peripheral (20.5 ± 2.7 vs. 10.3 ± 2.5 mmHg, p<0.05) and central systolic pressure (14.7 ± 2.1 vs. 7.4 ± 2.0 mmHg, p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Walking with additional load of 10% of their body weight (aerobic exercise accompanied by upper limb isometric contraction) increases derived measures of central pressure and augmentation index, an index of wave reflection and arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal; Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: fernando.ribeiro@ua.pt.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nórton L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Higher Institute of Educational Sciences, Felgueiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: Alberto J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001011:Aorta / Q000502:physiology*; D062186:Arterial Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Análise da onda de pulso; Arterial stiffness; Augmentation index; Exercício isodinâmico; Isodynamic exercise; Pulse wave analysis; Rigidez arterial; Índice de aumentação