Peripheral and Cerebral
Vascular Responses Following
High-Intensity Interval Exercise
Senior Lecturer
Sport and Health Sciences
University of Exeter
Bert Bond, PhD
Associate Lecturer
Sport and Health Sciences
University of Exeter
Max Weston, PhD Candidate
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Bert Bond, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Public Health and Sport Science
University of Exeter Medical School
University of Exeter
B.Bond@exeter.ac.uk
Max Weston
Associate Lecturer
University of Exeter Medical School
PhD Research Scholar
QUEX institute
M.E.Weston@exeter.ac.uk
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Alumni
Qais Al-Alem (MSc), Rohit Banger (MSc), Sascha Kranen (PhD), Jodie Koep (PhD),
Kate Sansum (MSc), Ollie Smail (MSc), Will Wallis(MSc)
Postgraduate students
Majed Alobaid
Jacob Jack
Petri Jalanko
Rebecca Lear
Alice Lester
Jess Thomas
Jessica Virgili
Max Weston
Alex Woodgates
Vascular research
in Public Health
and Sport Sciences
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Vascular research
in Public Health
and Sport Sciences
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Vascular research
in Public Health
and Sport Sciences
McGill et al. 2000 Am J Clin Nutr
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
FMD
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
HIIE
MIE
Bond et al. 2015 MSSE
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
FMD
TCD
Can exercise acutely alter cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR)?
If so, is this intensity-dependent?
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
High intensity interval exercise and the brain
Cerebrovascular function?
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
1) To investigate the effect of exercise intensity on
peripheral vascular function
Aims
In healthy young adults:
Brachial Artery FMD
2) To investigate the effect of exercise intensity on
cerebrovascular function
3) To characterise the cerebral blood flow response
during exercise
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Methods
• 10 healthy adults – 6 females
• 23 ± 4 years
Intensity
Time
Exhaustion!
Visit 1
• VO2max
Visits 2-5
• 4 experimental trials
• Completed in a different order
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Time-matched
Average-intensity matched
• Pre-exercise
• 1h after exercise
• 3h after exercise
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements – Peripheral Vascular Function
Allometrically-scaled
FMD
Aim 1!
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements – Cerebral Blood Flow
Transcranial Doppler ultrasound
Middle cerebral artery blood velocity
MCAv
• At rest
• During exercise
• During other, whole-body
dynamic movements
Aim 3!
Replicate scanning depth and position within + between visits!
CV for baseline MCAv
Within-day: 5.3% (95% CI: 3.8%–8.8%)
Between-day: 9.3% (95% CI: 7.4%–13.2%)
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements – Cerebral Blood Flow
Middle cerebral artery blood velocity
MCAv
Which side to measure?
Inconsistencies in previous literature
Weston et al., Under Review
Practical Recommendations:
Collect L & R if possible
• If one signal is lost, use remaining
Unilateral is okay on a group level
• Need to be consistent within an
individual
Report how data are handled
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements – Cerebrovascular Function
Smith & Ainslie (2017); Exp Physiol
Cerebral autoregulation Cerebrovascular reactivity
Aim 2!
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements – Cerebrovascular Reactivity
Smith & Ainslie (2017); Exp Physiol
Hypercapnia
Hypocapnia
4 min
1 min
Δ MCAv
Δ PETCO2
= CVR
6%
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements
TCD
Blood Pressure
Expired gas
PETCO2
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Measurements
Finger Pressure, MAP, SBP, DBP, Q
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
All data is time-aligned
Exported together
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Results – Brachial Artery FMD
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Results – Brachial Artery FMD
HIIE 1(*) and HIIE 2(#) elevated FMD above
baseline 1 and 3 hours post-exercise
No difference between HIIE 1 vs 2
Shear Stress
Interval Pattern
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Results – Cerebrovascular Reactivity
Hypercapnia Hypocapnia
In contrast with previous work
Protocol + measurement
Vessel characteristics
In contrast with FMD
MCAv response during exercise…?
Different mechanisms?
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Results – MCAv during exercise
Pattern of MCAv differed
between trials
But no difference in MCAv
response to exercise:
1- Mean
2- Peak
3- AUC
CON
MOD
HIIE 1
HIIE 2
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Take-home messages
• HIIE performed at 75% and 90% VO2max improved
peripheral vascular function 1 and 3 hours after
exercise
Greater brachial artery shear stress…?
• CVR was unchanged following all conditions
Peripheral ≠ Cerebral
• exercise dose (intensity, duration)
• measurement technique and timing
• sample
Access our paper:
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Where next?
Access our paper:
@maxeweston m.e.weston@exeter.ac.uk
* b.bond@exeter.ac.uk
@CHERC_UoE
Exercise
Sleep
Nutrition
Ageing
ExHIBIT
Children
Adolescents
Adults
Older adults
Methods

Peripheral and Cerebral Vascular Responses Following High-Intensity Interval Exercise