ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To examine the impact of a single bout of exercise on cardiac function and the blood level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in healthy subjects. METHODS: Thirty untrained, healthy young (aged between 20 and 29 years) volunteers (15 men and 15 women) were prospectively recruited. The plasma N-terminal pro-B-type BNP (NT-proBNP) level was checked, cardiac function was assessed using echocardiography in baseline conditions, and the values were compared with those obtained after treadmill exercise according to the Bruce protocol. RESULTS: Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction decreased after exercise in men, but not in women. Parameters of LV diastolic function were likely to change unfavorably in both sexes after exercise. NT-proBNP levels were significantly elevated by exercise in both sexes (from 22.1±18.3 to 24.7±20.2 pg/mL, P=0.006 in men; from 41.1±21.5 to 46.5±24.9 pg/mL, P<0.001 in women). Changes in NT-proBNP levels were significantly associated with those in E wave velocity, E wave deceleration time, E/e' and E/propagation velocity (Vp) in men (P<0.05 for each) even after controlling for the effects of blood pressure and heart rate. In women, there were no significant associations between changes in parameters of LV diastolic function and those in NT-proBNP levels. CONCLUSIONS: LV systolic and diastolic functions may deteriorate, and proBNP levels could be elevated even by a single bout of treadmill exercise in untrained young subjects. Dynamic change in LV diastolic function is a major stimulus to NT-proBNP release following exercise in men but not in women.
