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      Case studies in physiology: Impact of a long‐distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail on arterial function and body composition in a highly fit young male

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          Abstract

          The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 4265‐km hiking trail that extends from the US‐Mexican border to the US‐Canadian border through the mountain ranges of western North America. Individuals who hike the entire length of the trail in one season (4–6 months) perform long daily exercise durations while exposed to extreme environmental temperatures, high altitudes, intense solar radiation, and the consumption of calorie‐rich, nutrient‐poor diets. This case study reports changes in arterial function and body composition in a subject before and after a 112‐day long‐distance hike of the PCT. Brachial artery flow‐mediated dilation, a measure of vascular endothelial function, decreased from: 6.97% to 5.00%. Carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity, a measure of aortic stiffness, increased from 5.39 to 5.76 m/s. Dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry scans detected no major changes in total‐body bone mineral density, fat mass, or lean mass, although there were minor, unfavorable changes in some subregions of the body. It is important for individuals completing a long‐distance hike to be aware of the potential deleterious changes associated with large volumes of exercise and consuming a high‐calorie, low‐quality diet.

          Abstract

          The subject trekked 4,052km over 112 days. Tests were performed before and after the trek.

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          Most cited references26

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          Recommendations for Improving and Standardizing Vascular Research on Arterial Stiffness: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

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            Vascular adaptation in athletes: is there an 'athlete's artery'?

            Whilst the existence of a specific phenotype characterized as 'athlete's heart' is generally acknowledged, the question of whether athletes exhibit characteristic vascular adaptations has not been specifically addressed. To do so in this symposium, studies which have assessed the size, wall thickness and function of elastic, large muscular and smaller resistance arteries in athletes have been reviewed. Notwithstanding the caveats pertaining to cross-sectional comparisons between athletes and 'matched' control subjects, these studies reveal increased conduit artery size, including enlargement of epicardial arteries and those supplying skeletal muscle. Evidence that peak limb blood flow responses are enhanced in athletes further suggests that resistance arteries undergo increases in total cross-sectional area. Such increases can be localized to those arteries supplying active muscle leading to speculation, supported by exercise training studies in humans and animal and cellular data, that arterial enlargement is associated with repetitive episodic increases in arterial shear stress which elicit endothelium-mediated remodelling. Such structural remodelling at conduit and resistance artery level may play a role in accommodating the substantial increase in cardiac output apparent in endurance athletes; arterial pressure is not increased at rest or during exercise in athletes (versus control subjects). Arterial wall remodelling also occurs in athletes but, in contrast to the impact of shear stress on remodelling of arterial lumenal dimensions, the impact of endurance athletic status on wall thickness may be a systemic, rather than localized, phenomenon. Finally, the question of whether the arteries of athletes exhibit enhanced function is moot. Somewhat paradoxically, measures of conduit and resistance artery endothelial function may not be enhanced, compared with healthy control subjects. This may relate to the inherent difficulty of improving arterial function which is already normal, or the time course and transient nature of functional change. It may also relate to the impact of compensatory structural remodelling, as arterial lumen size and wall thickness both affect functional responsiveness. In summary, there is clear evidence for an impact of athletic status on arterial structure and function, at least with respect to the impact of endurance training. Arterial adaptation may, to some extent, emulate that evident in the hearts of endurance athletes, and it is tempting to speculate that similar mechanisms may be at play.
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              Arterial stiffness and wave reflections in marathon runners.

              Regular aerobic exercise has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. Marathon running is an aerobic and extremely vigorous exercise. Arterial stiffness and wave reflections are independent predictors of cardiovascular risk. We investigated the acute effect of marathon race on aortic stiffness and wave reflections, as well as possible chronic alterations of these indexes in marathon runners. We studied 49 marathon runners (age 38 +/- 9 years) and 46 recreationally active control subjects (age 37 +/- 5 years). To investigate the acute effect of marathon race, a subgroup of 20 runners was evaluated after the race as well. Aortic stiffness was evaluated with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and wave reflections with augmentation index (AIx). Marathon runners had significantly higher systolic, diastolic, pulse (both aortic and brachial), and mean pressures compared to controls (P < 0.05 for all). Marathon runners had significantly higher PWV (6.89 m/s vs. 6.33 m/s, P < 0.01), whereas there was no difference in AIx and AIx corrected for heart rate (AIx@75) compared to controls (13.8% vs. 13.9%, P = 0.985 and 8.2% vs. 10.3%, P = 0.340, respectively). Marathon race caused a significant fall in both AIx (12.2% vs. -5.8%, P < 0.001) and AIx@75 (7.0% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.01), whereas PWV did not change significantly (6.66 m/s vs. 6.74 m/s, P = 0.690). Aortic and brachial systolic, diastolic, and mean pressures were also decreased (P < 0.05). A significant fall in wave reflections was observed after marathon race, whereas aortic stiffness was not altered. Moreover, marathon runners have increased aortic stiffness and pressures, whereas wave reflections indexes do not differ compared to controls.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                thhe770@colorado.edu
                Journal
                Physiol Rep
                Physiol Rep
                10.1002/(ISSN)2051-817X
                PHY2
                physreports
                Physiological Reports
                John Wiley and Sons Inc. (Hoboken )
                2051-817X
                04 March 2021
                March 2021
                : 9
                : 5 ( doiID: 10.1002/phy2.v9.5 )
                : e14767
                Affiliations
                [ 1 ] Department of Integrative Physiology The University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
                Author notes
                [*] [* ] Correspondence

                Thomas C. Heinbockel, Department of Integrative Physiology, The University of Colorado Boulder, 354 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.

                Email: thhe770@ 123456colorado.edu

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3640-2354
                Article
                PHY214767
                10.14814/phy2.14767
                7931801
                33661563
                f46b2843-e166-4de4-9fa8-70d71546c8a9
                © 2021 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society

                This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 28 October 2020
                : 27 January 2021
                : 27 January 2021
                Page count
                Figures: 2, Tables: 2, Pages: 7, Words: 9628
                Categories
                Original Article
                Original Articles
                Custom metadata
                2.0
                March 2021
                Converter:WILEY_ML3GV2_TO_JATSPMC version:5.9.9 mode:remove_FC converted:04.03.2021

                body composition,endothelial function,endurance exercise

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