Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Apr 10;23(8):3855. doi: 10.3390/s23083855.
Running can induce advantageous cardiovascular effects such as improved arterial stiffness and blood-supply perfusion. However, the differences between the vascular and blood-flow perfusion conditions under different levels of endurance-running performance remains unclear. The present study aimed to assess the vascular and blood-flow perfusion conditions among 3 groups (44 male volunteers) according to the time taken to run 3 km: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.
The radial blood pressure waveform (BPW), finger photoplethygraphy (PPG), and skin-surface laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals of the subjects were measured. Frequency-domain analysis was applied to BPW and PPG signals; time- and frequency-domain analyses were applied to LDF signals.
Pulse waveform and LDF indices differed significantly among the three groups. These could be used to evaluate the advantageous cardiovascular effects provided by long-term endurance-running training, such as vessel relaxation (pulse waveform indices), improvement in blood supply perfusion (LDF indices), and changes in cardiovascular regulation activities (pulse and LDF variability indices). Using the relative changes in pulse-effect indices, we achieved almost perfect discrimination between Level 3 and Level 2 (AUC = 0.878). Furthermore, the present pulse waveform analysis could also be used to discriminate between the Level-1 and Level-2 groups.
The present findings contribute to the development of a noninvasive, easy-to-use, and objective evaluation technique for the cardiovascular benefits of prolonged endurance-running training.
跑步可以带来有益的心血管效应，如改善动脉僵硬度和血液供应灌注。然而，不同耐力跑步水平下的血管和血流灌注条件的差异尚不清楚。本研究旨在根据 3 公里跑步时间将 3 组（44 名男性志愿者）的血管和血流灌注条件进行评估：1 级、2 级和 3 级。
测量受试者的桡动脉血压波形（BPW）、指端光体积描记法（PPG）和皮肤表面激光多普勒血流仪（LDF）信号。对 BPW 和 PPG 信号进行频域分析；对 LDF 信号进行时频域分析。
三组之间的脉搏波形和 LDF 指数有显著差异。这些可以用来评估长期耐力跑步训练提供的有利心血管效应，如血管松弛（脉搏波形指数）、血液供应灌注改善（LDF 指数）和心血管调节活动变化（脉搏和 LDF 变异性指数）。使用脉搏效应指数的相对变化，我们几乎可以完美地区分 3 级和 2 级（AUC = 0.878）。此外，本研究中的脉搏波形分析还可以用于区分 1 级和 2 级组。
本研究结果为评估长期耐力跑步训练的心血管益处提供了一种非侵入性、易于使用和客观的评估技术。
