Repeated Remote Ischemic Preconditioning And Arterial Stiffness In Healthy Normotensive Young Adults

PURPOSE: Arterial stiffness is the rigidness of the artery and one of the predictors of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Previously, research showed remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC), 3-4 cycles of 5 minutes of limb blood flow blockage with occlusion pressure of 200-220 mmHg followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion, improved cardiovascular functions. However, previous studies showed that RIPC did not change arterial stiffness. Most studies tested a short period of RIPC application (less than one week) and this period may not be sufficient to elicit structural changes in the artery. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether four weeks of repeated RIPC influences arterial stiffness in normotensive young adults. METHODS: Healthy normotensive (SBP < 120 mmHg, DBP < 80 mmHg) young adults were recruited for this study (n = 8; 2 M, 6F, 21.1 ± 0.8, years old, BMI 23.6 ± 3.3). RIPC training was performed for 4 cycles with 5 minutes of occlusion at a pressure of 200 mmHg followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion using an automated cuff. This intervention was designed for four cycles of 6 days of training with a 1-day break (total 24 days). Arterial stiffness was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), augmentation index (Alx), and central pressures by brachial pressure waveform before and after four weeks of RIPC intervention. Paired t-test was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Current preliminary data showed that four weeks of repeated RIPC training significantly attenuated mean arterial pressure (MAP) (Baseline: 80.3 ± 4.7 vs 4 weeks: 74.4 ± 7.5 mmHg, p < 0.05). However, no significant changes were seen in arterial stiffness measured by PWV (5.4 ± 0.4 vs 5.3 ± 0.6 m/s, p = 0.5), Alx 75 (3.4 ± 8.6 vs 5.1 ± 7.0%, p = 0.6), and central systolic pressure (92.2 ± 6.4 vs 91.2 ± 4.9 mmHg, p = 0.5). CONCLUSION: Four weeks of RIPC did not improve arterial stiffness in healthy normotensive young adults. This intervention period may not be long enough to elicit arterial stiffness changes. However, MAP was significantly decreased. The results suggest repeated RIPC may influence blood pressure more than arterial structural changes in healthy young populations.