Acute elevation of lipids does not alter exercise hemodynamics in healthy men: A randomized controlled study

Objective: Exaggerated exercise blood pressure (BP) predicts mortality. Some studies suggest this could be explained by chronic hyperlipidemia, but whether acute-hyperlipidemia effects exercise BP has never been tested, and was the aim of this study. Methods: Intravenous infusion of saline (control) and Intralipid were administered over 60 min in 15 healthy men by double-blind, randomized, cross-over design. Brachial and central BP (including, pulse pressure, augmentation pressure and augmentation index), cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance were recorded at rest and during exercise. Results: Compared with control, Intralipid caused significant increases in serum triglycerides, very low density lipoproteins and free fatty acids (p < 0.001 for all). However, there was no significant difference for any exercise hemodynamic variable (p > 0.05 for all). Conclusion: Acute-hyperlipidemia does not significantly change exercise hemodynamics in healthy males. Therefore, the association between raised lipids and increased exercise BP is likely due to the chronic effects of hyperlipidemia. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.