Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Determinant of Arterial Elasticity in Response to Exercise: Evidence from a Study of Young Athletes and Healthy Controls.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels and changes in arterial elasticity parameters immediately following maximal exercise in young elite athletes compared to healthy controls. Understanding how CRF influences arterial elasticity could provide insights into optimizing cardiovascular health through exercise interventions.

Methods: The study population comprised 34 elite athletes and 17 healthy controls with similar demographic characteristics. All participants underwent a baseline echocardiographic assessment, followed by a cardiopulmonary exercise test. Echocardiographic measurements, including aortic elasticity parameters derived from M-mode imaging of the ascending aorta, were repeated at 5, 15, and 60 minutes post-exercise. Aortic stiffness index (ASI) was used as the primary measure of arterial elasticity.

Results: The athletes had significantly higher mean VO₂max compared to the controls (50 vs. 38 ml/kg/min, p < 0.01). At rest, the athletes had lower aortic stiffness (ASI: 4.18 vs. 5.92, p < 0.01), indicating better arterial elasticity. A moderate negative correlation was observed between VO₂max and resting ASI (r = -0.51; p < 0.01), suggesting that higher CRF was associated with greater arterial elasticity. Post-exercise, ASI in the athletes returned to baseline levels by 60 minutes, whereas the controls showed a significant reduction in ASI compared to baseline (-0.02 vs. -0.33; p < 0.01).

Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of CRF in maintaining arterial elasticity and highlight differences in vascular adaptation to exercise between athletes and healthy individuals. The results suggest that exercise interventions should be tailored to individual fitness levels to optimize cardiovascular benefits and improve arterial health.