Central blood pressure and arterial stiffness among ultramarathon runners across the lifespan.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Regular exercise is beneficial, but more exercise may not always benefit cardiovascular health (extreme exercise hypothesis). This is concerning, because ultramarathon participation is growing, but previous work on cardiovascular health among ultramarathon runners is equivocal. Prior work has not examined this population's age-related differences in prognostic cardiovascular health metrics.

Purpose

Measure brachial and central BP and arterial stiffness (carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity [cfPWV]) among ultramarathon runners.

Methods

We measured supine BP and cfPWV (SphygmoCor-XCEL) among 71 athletes (16 female/55 male; body mass index: 22.6 ± 1.8 kg/m²) 1-3 days before they competed in the 161-km Western States Endurance Run. We present data as mean

SUBMITTER: Vondrasek JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12356499 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature