Vascular stiffness relates to the blood pressure response to stair climbing in young adults.

Abstract

Objective: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death, with elevated blood pressure (BP) in young adults being linked to CVD in adulthood. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a noninvasive measure of arterial stiffness, a predictor of CVD, and can be influenced by exercise. Exercise, like stair climbing, improves vascular health and reduces BP. The primary aims of this study were to examine whether the change in BP after a single stair climb is associated with PWV and whether it is associated with 24-h BP averages.

Methods: Fifty-four young adults (23.8 ± 3.56 years) underwent back-to-back sessions of vascular health assessment, a 24-h ambulatory BP (ABP) monitoring, and a single stair climb exercise consisting of 42 steps. Pre- to post-climb BP response was calculated.

Results: Our population was normotensive (119.4/73.7 mmHg) and had an increase in SBP (126.4-138.5 mmHg, P  < 0.05) and heart rate (HR) (85.6-94.2 bpm, P  < 0.05) with climb. We found an inverse relationship between PWV (5.4 ± 0.85 m/s) and change in SBP with climb ( r  = -0.340, P  = 0.012). We found no relationship between 24-h BP averages and post-stair climb response.

Conclusion: The first to report an inverse relationship between SBP response to exercise and PWV in young adults emphasizes subtle differences in vascular compliance. While the stair climb elicited a significant vascular response, there was no association with 24-h ABP averages. The potential of stair climbing as a practical exercise for assessing vascular health underscores the need for future research.