Response of the carotid artery longitudinal motion to submaximal physical activity in healthy humans—Marked changes already at low workload

The longitudinal motion of the arterial wall, that is, the displacement of the arterial wall along the artery, parallel to blood flow, is still largely unexplored. The magnitude and nature of putative changes in longitudinal motion of the arterial wall in response to physical activity in humans remain unknown. The aim of this study was therefore to study the longitudinal motion of the carotid artery wall during physical activity in healthy humans. Using in‐house developed non‐invasive ultrasonic methods, the longitudinal motion of the intima‐media complex and the diameter changes of the right common carotid artery (CCA) in 40 healthy volunteers (20 volunteers aged 22–35 years; 20 volunteers aged 55–68 years) were assessed at rest and during submaximal supine bicycle exercise. In a subset of the subjects (n = 18) also intramural shear strain were analyzed. The longitudinal motion of the intima‐media complex underwent marked changes in response to physical activity, already at low workload; with most evident a marked increase of the first antegrade displacement (p