title: Impact of American-style football participation on vascular function.
abstract: Although hypertension is common in American-style football (ASF) players, the presence of concomitant vascular dysfunction has not been previously characterized. We sought to examine the impact of ASF participation on arterial stiffness and to compare metrics of arterial function between collegiate ASF participants and nonathletic collegiate controls. Newly matriculated collegiate athletes were studied longitudinally during a single season of ASF participation and were then compared with healthy undergraduate controls. Arterial stiffness was characterized using applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor). ASF participants (n = 32, 18.4 ± 0.5 years) were evenly comprised of Caucasians (n = 14, 44%) and African-Americans (n = 18, 56%). A single season of ASF participation led to an increase in central aortic pulse pressure (27 ± 4 vs 34 ± 8 mm Hg, p <0.001). Relative to controls (n = 47), pulse wave velocity was increased in ASF participants (5.6 ± 0.7 vs 6.2 ± 0.9 m/s, p = 0.002). After adjusting for height, weight, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, ASF participation was independently predictive of increased pulse wave velocity (β = 0.33, p = 0.04). In conclusion, ASF participation leads to changes in central hemodynamics and increased arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: jonathan.kim@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Salman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sher
authors.affiliation: University Health Services, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University Health Services, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Brant
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Berkstresser
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Shoop
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galante
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Ibhar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Al Mheid
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Nima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghasemzadeh
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Adolph M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hutter
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: B Robinson
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Laurence S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Sperling
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Rory B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Arshed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Quyyumi
authors.affiliation: University Health Services, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Aaron L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Baggish
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*