LAUSR

This study sought to examine whether cardiovascular performance during exercise, assessed using the vascular-ventricular coupling index (VVC), was affected by exaggerated blood pressure (EBP) responses in endurance-trained athletes. Subjects were middle-aged endurance-trained males and females. Blood pressure measurements and left ventricular echocardiography were performed in a semi-upright position at rest, and during steady state cycling at workloads which elicited 100-110 bpm (stage 1) and 130-140 bpm (stage 2). These data were used to calculate effective arterial elastance index (EaI), left ventricular end-systolic elastance index (ELVI), and their ratio (VVC). Additional measurements of left ventricular volumes and function (i.e., stroke volume, cardiac output and longitudinal strain) and indirect assessments of peripheral vascular function (i.e., total arterial compliance and peripheral vascular resistance) were examined. Fourteen subjects with EBP (EBP+, 50% male) and 14 sex-matched subjects without EBP (EBP-) participated, with results presented as EBP+ vs. EBP-. EaI and ELVI increased from rest to exercise while VVC decreased, but only ELVI was different between groups at stage 1 [7.6 (1.8) vs. 6.4 (1.0) mmHg·ml-1·m-2, P=0.045] and stage 2 [10.3 (1.6) vs. 8.0 (1.7) mmHg·ml-1·m-2, P<0.001]. Additional comparisons revealed no group difference in the contribution of the Frank-Starling mechanism or left ventricular and peripheral vascular function during exercise. The cardiovascular adjustment to exercise in athletes with EBP is achieved through a matched increase in both EaI and ELVI and the absence of between-group differences in left ventricular or peripheral vascular function suggests that other factors may contribute to the EBP response.