Arterial Stiffness And Fragmentation Of Sedentary Behavior In Physically Active Individuals.

Abstract

The results from backward stepwise regression indicated that PWV (β = 0.194, p<0.05) and AIx (β = -0.316, p<0.01) significantly predicted postural sway, explaining 13.2% of the variance in postural sway. Variables not included in the model were PP amplification and TVR (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: PWV and AIx were found to be significant predictors of postural sway in young adults. These findings suggest that increased arterial stiffness may negatively influence balance, while wave reflections may be protective for balance. Arterial stiffening may lead to increases in pressure and flow pulsatility that could detrimentally affect the components of the brain important for postural control. In contrast, wave reflections may act as a buffer against forward pulsatile energy to help protect those components of the brain.