JOURNAL OF SPORTS SCIENCE & MEDICINE |
Research article |
THE EFFECT OF REGULAR EXERCISE TRAINING DURING PREGNANCY ON POSTPARTUM BRACHIAL-ANKLE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY, A MEASURE OF ARTERIAL STIFFNESS | |||||||||
Ikuno Kawabata1, Akihito Nakai1, Atsuko Sekiguchi1, Yuko Inoue2 and Toshiyuki Takeshita1 | |||||||||
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan; 2Inoue Ladies Clinic, Tokyo, Japan. | |||||||||
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2012) 11, 489 - 494 | |||||||||
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ABSTRACT | ||||||||||||
The aim of our study was to use brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurements to noninvasively assess the effect of exercise training on arterial stiffness in normal pregnant women. Arterial stiffness was assessed at the beginning of the early second trimester of pregnancy and 1 month after delivery in 17 women with normal singleton pregnancies who exercised regularly throughout pregnancy: 81 matched controls were used for comparison. No significant differences were observed in baPWV between the exercise and control groups at the beginning of the second trimester. BaPWV 1 month after delivery (1160.2 ± 109.1 cm·second-1) was signifi-cantly higher than that in the early second trimester (1116.7 ± 87.9 cm·second-1) in the control group (indicating increased arterial stiffness), but not in the exercise group (1145.9 ± 88.1 cm/second vs 1122.7 ± 100.2 cm·second-1, respectively: not significant). The results indicated that regular maternal exercise training decreased arterial stiffness in normal pregnant women, which suggests that regular exercise may help prevent hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Key words: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, maternal exercise training, arterial stiffness. |
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INTRODUCTION | ||||||||||||
Pregnancy is associated with maternal physiological changes that require adaptation of the cardiovascular system. Large increases in the plasma volume and cardiac output are observed because of arterial vasodilatation that occurs during normal pregnancy. These cardiovascular adaptations are important for successful outcome of pregnancy (Elvan-Taspinar et al. , 2005). Arterial vasodilatation during pregnancy is associated with increased aortic distension (Elvan- Taspinar et al., 2005; Macedo et al., 2008; Poppas et al., 1997). Previous reports have indicated that increased arterial stiffness during pregnancy causes several disorders such as pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and fetal growth restriction (Macedo et al., 2008; Oyama-Kato et al., 2006). |
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METHODS | ||||||||||||
Study population Exercise training Pulse wave analysis Statistical analysis |
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RESULTS | ||||||||||||
Recordings were successfully obtained from all subjects, and all of them tolerated the studies well. No subjects develop preeclampsia, gestational hypertension or other diseases that could interfere with participation in the exercise program. Table 3 shows the changes in baPWV during pregnancy from the first examination (early second trimester) to the second examination (about 1 month after delivery). Compared with baPWV at the first examination, there were no significant differences in baPWV at 1 month after delivery on either side between the two groups. |
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DISCUSSION | ||||||||||||
The present study showed that regular maternal exercise training decreased arterial stiffness in pregnancy. BaPWV of normal pregnant women not undergoing exercise was shown to increase significantly after delivery. In contrast, there was no significant change in baPWV between the early second trimester and 1 month after delivery in women who performed aerobic training during pregnancy. |
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AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY | |
Ikuno KAWABATA Employment: Department of Obste Degree: MD, PhD Research interests: Maternal exercise, obste E-mail: ikawabata8512@nms.ac.jp | |
Akihito NAKAI Employment: Department of Obste Degree: MD, PhD Research interests: Maternal exercise, obste | |
Atsuko SEKIGUCHI Employment: Department of Obste Degree: MD, PhD Research interests: Maternal exercise, obste | |
Yuko INOUE Employment: Inoue Ladies Clinic, Degree: MD, PhD Research interests: Maternal exercise, obste | |
Toshiyuki TAKESHITA Employment: Department of Obste Degree: MD, PhD Research interests: Sterility, assisted reproductive technology |