Pulse wave velocity (PWV) deceleration to reactive hyperemia–flow-mediated slowing (FMS)–has been suggested as an alternative method to flow-mediated dilation (FMD) to evaluate brachial artery endothelial function. FMS is suggested to address major caveats of the FMD procedure including its suboptimal repeatability and high-operator dependency. However, the repeatability of FMS has not been thoroughly examined, especially given the plethora of methods claiming to measure PWV. We assessed and compared the intra- and inter-day repeatability of FMS as measured by piezoelectric pressure mechanotransducers placed in the carotid and radial arteries, and brachial artery FMD as measured by echo-tracking. Twenty-four healthy male participants aged 23–75 yr, were examined on three separate days to assess intra and inter-day repeatability. All FMD and FMS examinations were conducted simultaneously by the same researcher complying with standardized guidelines. Repeatability was examined with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC; >0.80), coefficient of variation (CV; <15%), and limits of agreement (95% LOA). Relative (%) FMD and FMS were scaled for baseline brachial artery diameter and PWV, respectively. Intra- (ICC: 0.72; CV: 136%; 95% LOA: -19.38 to 29.19%) and Inter-day (ICC: 0.69; CV: 145%, 95% LOA: -49.50 to 46.08%) repeatability of %FMS was poor, whereas %FMD demonstrated moderate-to-good intra- (ICC: 0.93; CV: 18%, 95% LOA: -3.02 to 3.75%) and inter-day repeatability (ICC: 0.74; CV: 25%, 95% LOA: -9.16 to 7.04%). Scaling FMD reduced the intra-day CV (-5%), and the uncertainty of the 95% LOA (- 37.64 to 35.69%) estimates of FMS. Carotid-radial artery FMS showed poorer repeatability compared to FMD.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is attracting increasing attention in the sports and exercise fields, as it provides insights into brain behavior during specific tasks. However, it remains unclear if the promising wireless EEG caps provide reliable results despite the artifacts associated with head movement. The present study aims to evaluate the repeatability of brain activity as measured by a wireless 32-channel EEG system (EMOTIV flex cap) during resistance exercises in 18 apparently healthy but physically inactive young adults (10 men and 8 women). Moderate-intensity leg press exercises are performed with two evaluations with 48 h. between. This intensity allows enough time for data analysis while reducing unnecessary but involuntary head movements. Repeated measurements of EEG during the resistance exercise show high repeatability in all frequency bands, with excellent ICCs (>0.90) and bias close to zero, regardless of sex. These results suggest that a 32-channel wireless EEG system can be used to collect data on controlled resistance exercise tasks performed at moderate intensities. Future studies should replicate these results with a bigger sample size and different resistance exercises and intensities.

Sex differences in resting cerebral hemodynamics decline with advancing age as females experience larger reductions in cerebral blood velocity and steeper pulsatility increases than males. However, an exercise-mediated hypertensive stimulus might reveal sex differences in cerebral hemodynamics not apparent at rest. Following high-intensity resistance exercise, older females but not males exhibit increases in cerebral blood velocity, despite similar increases in cerebral pulsatility. The susceptibility to cerebrovascular abnormalities following exercise-mediated hypertensive stimulus appears similar between sexes.

Flow-mediated slowing (FMS) is a non-invasive measure of endothelial function measured through reactive hyperemia-induced changes in pulse wave velocity (PWV). FMS is suggested to mitigate known pitfalls of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) including suboptimal repeatability and high-operator dependency. However, the few single-rater studies that examined FMS repeatability have shown controversial results and used only regional measurements of PWV, which might not reflect local brachial artery stiffness responses to reactive hyperemia. We assessed the inter- and intra-rater repeatability of ultrasound-based changes in local PWV (FMS) and diameter (FMD). Twenty-four healthy male participants aged 23–75 yr, were examined on two separate days. Reactive hyperemia-induced changes in PWV were calculated using a tailored R-script. The inter- and intra-rater repeatability were tested with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (CV), and the Bland-Altman plot estimates. The inter-rater repeatability of FMS (bias: -0.08%; ICC: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.65 to 0.93; CV: 11%) and FMD (bias: -0.02%; ICC: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97 to 0.99; CV: 7%) showed overall good repeatability over different days. The intra-rater repeatability of FMD (1^st rater: bias: 0.27%; ICC: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.78 to 0.96; CV: 14%; 2^nd rater: bias: 0.60%; ICC: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.64 to 0.94; CV: 18%) was better than FMS (1^st rater: bias: -1.03%; ICC: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.91; CV: 21%; 2^nd rater: bias:-0.49%; ICC: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.80; CV: 23%) but not different between raters. Ultrasound-based local measurements of PWV deceleration reactive hyperemia were repeatable among the raters.

Objectives. To examine the acute effect of a maximal aerobic exercise effort on aortic, peripheral arterial stiffness and cardiovagal modulation of trained and untrained patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Design. Cross-sectional study. Methods. Eighteen untrained patients with CAD, 18 trained patients with CAD, and 18 apparently healthy trained subjects were sampled and matched for age and body mass index. Aortic and peripheral stiffness were measured by applanation tonometry estimates of carotid-femoral (cfPWV), carotid-radial (crPWV), and carotid-dorsalis pedis pulse wave velocity (cdPWV), respectively. Cardiovagal modulation was assessed by heart-rate variability (HRV) indices including the standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN), root-mean-square of successive differences (RMSSD), and the high-frequency power band (HF). cfPWV, crPWV, cdPWV, and HRV indices were measured at rest, 10 and 30 min following a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Results. No differences were observed between groups at rest nor over time in indices of HRV, cfPWV and cdPWV. Still, main effects of time were observed in cfPWV (p < .001; ɳ² = 0.313) and cdPWV (p = .003, ɳ² = 0.111), RMSSD (p < .001, ɳ² = 0.352), HF (p < .001, ɳ² = 0.265) and LF/HF (p = .001, ɳ² = 0.239), as cdPWV, RMSSD, and HF were reduced 10 min following exercise, whereas cfPWV and LF/HF were increased. Changes in cPP were associated with changes in HRV from rest to min 10 (HF, r = 0.302), and to min 30 (HF, r = 0.377; SDNN, r = 0.357; RMSSD, r = 0.429). Conclusion. Training level and CAD do not seem to influence arterial stiffness and cardiac autonomic responses to maximal exercise.

We examined the effects of adding a Kettlebell Swing training program (KB) to the regular skill-training protocol (REGULAR) on cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiorespiratory/metabolic demand, and recovery to a simulated competition of female artistic gymnastics. Nine gymnasts (13±2 years) had their REGULAR complemented with a 4-week kettlebell training (REGULAR+KB), consisting of 3 sessions/week of 12x30” swings x 30” rest with ¼ of their body weight, while 9 aged-matched gymnasts acted as a comparison group. Peak oxygen uptake ( ) during routines was estimated from the O₂ recovery curve using backward extrapolation and off-kinetics parameters were modeled through a mono-exponential function. Heart rate (HR) was monitored continuously and capillary blood lactate (BL_a^-) was measured before and after each routine (1^st and 3^rd min). Cardiorespiratory fitness ( ) was evaluated using a ramp cycle ergometer test. A training-by-time interaction effect was observed for (p = 0.009) as increments were only observed after REGULAR+KB (M = 8.85, SD = 9.67 ml.kg.min^-1). No training-by-time interactions were observed for HR_peak (p = 0.39), (p = 0.07), or La^-_{post3 (}p = 0.25)_, both training protocols reduced HR_peak (M = -12; SD = 11 b.min^-1) and BLa^-_post1 (M = -0.70; SD = 1.29 mmol.L^-1) during the simulated competition, but not relative . No training-by-time interaction was observed for the off-transient time constant (p = 0.38). recovery was slower (M = 5; SD = 10 s) after both protocols. Both training protocols improved cardiorespiratory and metabolic demands and recovery kinetics to a simulated competition of female artistic gymnastics, although increases in cardiorespiratory fitness were only observed in REGULAR+KB.