Study of blood flow parameters measured in femoral artery after exercise: correlation with maximum oxygen uptake

To study the recovery periods of blood flow parameters in muscles after anaerobic exercise, instantaneous and mean blood flow velocity curves were recorded in the femoral artery in 22 sportsmen at rest and during the first 4 min of recovery after exercise (Ruffier–Dickson test). A flat ultrasonic probe connected to a Doppler system (Flow-Tester) was fixed on the skin at the level of the common femoral artery. From Doppler recordings, we calculated periods of recovery (return to baseline) of femoral blood flow velocity (FBFV RP), heart rate (HR RP) and femoral stroke distance (FSD RP). Also, Ruffier–Dickson index (RDI), VO 2max in mL/kg −1/min −1 and number of training hours were determined. We observed a high correlation between FBFV RP and VO 2max ( p = 0.0002), and significant correlation between FSD RP and VO 2max ( p = 0.0238) and RDI ( p = 0.0451). In conclusion, there is a excellent correlation between blood flow velocity recovery period in femoral artery after moderate exercise and VO 2max in high-level sportsmen. The method of testing is simple and based on conventional Doppler technique. It can be used for the follow-up of training levels in sportsmen.