The effect of regular exercise training during pregnancy on postpartum brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, a measure of arterial stiffness.

The aim of our study was to use brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurements to noninvasively assess the effect of exercise training on arterial stiffness in normal pregnant women. Arterial stiffness was assessed at the beginning of the early second trimester of pregnancy and 1 month after delivery in 17 women with normal singleton pregnancies who exercised regularly throughout pregnancy: 81 matched controls were used for comparison. No significant differences were observed in baPWV between the exercise and control groups at the beginning of the second trimester. BaPWV 1 month after delivery (1160.2 ± 109.1 cm·second(-1)) was signifi-cantly higher than that in the early second trimester (1116.7 ± 87.9 cm·second(-1)) in the control group (indicating increased arterial stiffness), but not in the exercise group (1145.9 ± 88.1 cm/second vs 1122.7 ± 100.2 cm·second(-1), respectively: not significant). The results indicated that regular maternal exercise training decreased arterial stiffness in normal pregnant women, which suggests that regular exercise may help prevent hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Key pointsRegular maternal exercise training decreased arterial stiffness in normal pregnant women, which suggests that regular exercise may help prevent hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.Maternal exercise suggests that disturbances in arterial function during pregnancy may be prevented by regular exercise.