Ankle to arm index following maximal exercise in normal subjects and athletes

Abstract

Recent reports have suggested that minor arterial lesions can be responsible for claudication in athletes occurring only during maximal exercise. Ankle to arm index measurements (AAI) prove the arterial origin of this claudication, but little is known about the normal response of AAI to maximal exercise. Therefore, we studied the response of AAI to maximal exercise in trained and untrained normal subjects. AAI and heart rate (HR) were recorded at rest and following maximal exercise on a cycle ergometer in 15 untrained (VO2 = 41.5 +/- 4.0 ml.kg-1.min-1) and 15 trained (VO2 = 58.4 +/- 2.8 ml.kg-1.min-1) volunteers. All subjects were without known peripheral arterial disease. At rest, AAI was 1.08 +/- 0.08 in untrained subjects and 1.15 +/- 0.05 in trained subjects (P < 0.05). HR was 73.9 +/- 11.0 in untrained subjects and 57.1 +/- 8.3 in trained subjects (P < 0.05). Following exercise, AAI decreased during the first minutes of recovery in all subjects, with a significant difference between untrained and trained subjects. Although untrained subjects sustained a lower workload than trained subjects, at 1 min following exercise AAI was 0.70 +/- 0.06 in untrained versus 0.8 +/- 0.08 in trained subjects (P < 0.05). No difference in AAI to HR relationships was noted between untrained and trained subjects. In conclusion, we suggest that AAI should be interpreted with regard to HR at the end of maximal exercise and we project normal results for the AAI to HR relationships following maximal exercise.

Ankle–brachial index after maximum exercise in treadmill and cycle ergometers in athletes

“…Differences in exercise protocols or in the population studied can be possible explanations for this difference. A similar paradoxical result was found between trained and untrained subjects (Desvaux et al ., 1996b). Nevertheless, although the ABI decreased more in untrained subjects performing lower workloads, the ABI to HR relationship was comparable in the two groups (Desvaux et al ., 1996b), and the difference found was expected to be due to a difference in the recovery mode between trained and sedentary subjects.…”

The physiological response of ankle systolic blood pressure and ankle to brachial index after maximal exercise in athletes is dependent on age

“…Nevertheless, we previously demonstrated that, in a group of comparable age, highly trained competition athletes had a less pronounced reduction of ABI as compared to sedentary subjects, although performing higher workload (Desvaux et al 1996a).…”

“…Then, it is of interest to note that no difference was found in height among the three groups. Although various reviews suggest that ASBP should not decrease in normal subjects following moderate exercise such as walking on a treadmill (King et al 1965;Strandness and Bell 1964;Yao 1973;Yao et al 1969), multiple evidences have been provided that ABI may physiologically decrease following intensive exercise in normal young athletes and untrained young subjects 1996a;Taylor and George 2001). Nevertheless, little is known about aging athletes and maximal exercise.…”

“…The cutaneous and muscle blood flow increase at the lower limb level through thermal stress or exercise results in a decrease of the ratio of ankle systolic blood pressure (ASBP) to brachial systolic blood pressure (BSBP) (Desvaux et al , 1996a. This ratio defines the ankle to brachial index (ABI).…”

“…The normal ASBP and ABI responses to intense exercise are known in young athletes (Abraham et al 2001;Desvaux et al 1995Desvaux et al , 1996aTaylor and George 2001), but little is known for other age groups. Thus, it is not known whether the normal response for ASBP and ABI found in young subjects following heavy-load exercise are applicable to other age groups.…”