Intermittent Standing and Prior Exercise as Strategies to Prevent Arterial Stiffening That Can Arise From Prolonged Sitting
type: CreativeWork
description: Prolonged sitting can cause adverse vascular responses, including elevations in aortic stiffness which might contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Few studies have investigated the impact of intermittent standing and/or prior exercise as strategies to mitigate these deleterious vascular changes. Purpose: to explore vascular health responses to prolonged sitting, with and without intermittent standing and/or prior exercise. Methods: 15 males aged between 18 and 31 years were recruited. Participants completed a control condition (Sitting Only), and three randomized strategy conditions (Sitting Plus Standing, Exercise Plus Sitting, Exercise Plus Sitting Plus Standing). For all conditions, measurements of carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) were taken at pre- and post-intervention, and brachial and central blood pressure (BP) at pre-, 1-hour-, 2-hours-, and 3-hours-intervention. Results: Condition and time did not interact significantly for any vascular parameters. cfPWV significantly increased from pre- to post-intervention for all conditions (p=0.003, p=0.043, p=0.001, p=0.008), as well for brachial and central diastolic BP for the control condition (p=0.044, p=0.015). Brachial systolic BP at 3-hours-intervention and central systolic BP at 1-hour-intervention were significantly higher for the control condition compared to the Exercise Plus Sitting Plus Standing condition (p=0.005, p=0.010). Conclusions: BP and cfPWV may not be meaningfully influenced by these strategies and do not seem to be related. These strategies may reduce BP in the brachial and aortic arteries, and a combination of prior exercise and intermittent standing may reduce systolic BP more effectively. Future research should explore mechanistic links between sitting and aortic stiffening and experiment with other strategies.
abstract: Prolonged sitting can cause adverse vascular responses, including elevations in aortic stiffness which might contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Few studies have investigated the impact of intermittent standing and/or prior exercise as strategies to mitigate these deleterious vascular changes. Purpose: to explore vascular health responses to prolonged sitting, with and without intermittent standing and/or prior exercise. Methods: 15 males aged between 18 and 31 years were recruited. Participants completed a control condition (Sitting Only), and three randomized strategy conditions (Sitting Plus Standing, Exercise Plus Sitting, Exercise Plus Sitting Plus Standing). For all conditions, measurements of carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) were taken at pre- and post-intervention, and brachial and central blood pressure (BP) at pre-, 1-hour-, 2-hours-, and 3-hours-intervention. Results: Condition and time did not interact significantly for any vascular parameters. cfPWV significantly increased from pre- to post-intervention for all conditions (p=0.003, p=0.043, p=0.001, p=0.008), as well for brachial and central diastolic BP for the control condition (p=0.044, p=0.015). Brachial systolic BP at 3-hours-intervention and central systolic BP at 1-hour-intervention were significantly higher for the control condition compared to the Exercise Plus Sitting Plus Standing condition (p=0.005, p=0.010). Conclusions: BP and cfPWV may not be meaningfully influenced by these strategies and do not seem to be related. These strategies may reduce BP in the brachial and aortic arteries, and a combination of prior exercise and intermittent standing may reduce systolic BP more effectively. Future research should explore mechanistic links between sitting and aortic stiffening and experiment with other strategies.
author: Wright, Alexander
keywords: Sitting, Aorta, Stiffening, Strategies, Exercise, Standing
date published: 2022-04-22T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:45:33Z
provider: University of Southern Mississippi
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Southern Mississippi