Background: Firefighters have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The poor heart health of firefighters is implicated in their increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Exercise may be protective against SCD partially due to the immediate blood pressure (BP) reductions of 5-8 mmHg following exercise, termed postexercise hypotension (PEH) OBJECTIVES: To examine PEH under ambulatory conditions after a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) among career firefighters METHODS: Firefighters (n = 19) completed a maximal CPET and non-exercise control (CONTROL) in random order on separate non-workdays and left the laboratory instrumented to an ambulatory BP (ABP) monitor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostexercise hypotension (PEH), or the immediate decrease in blood pressure (BP) lasting for 24 h following an exercise bout, is well-established; however, the influence of exercise training on PEH dynamics is unknown. This study investigated the reliability and time course of change of PEH during exercise training among adults with hypertension. PEH responders ( = 10) underwent 12 weeks of aerobic exercise training, 40 min/session at moderate-to-vigorous intensity for 3 d/weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Regular physical activity is critical for health and disease prevention. Yet, health care providers and patients face barriers to implement evidence-based lifestyle recommendations. The potential to augment care with the increased availability of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is limitless; however, the suitability of AI-generated exercise recommendations has yet to be explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCaffeine has beneficial effects on firefighter job performance reducing fatigue and improving psychomotor vigilance. However, excessive caffeine intake may raise blood pressure (BP) following a bout of acute exercise among adults with elevated BP. The influence of caffeine intake on the ambulatory BP (ABP) response to vigorous physical exertion among firefighters has not been studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF