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Effects of Exercise on Vascular Function, Structure, and Health in Humans
Green DJ, Smith KJ.. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, 2018-04-02
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Physical activity has profound impacts on the vasculature in humans. Acute exercise induces immediate changes in artery function, whereas repeated episodic bouts of exercise induce chronic functional adaptation and, ultimately, structural arterial remodeling. The nature of these changes in function and structure are dependent on the characteristics of the training load and may be modulated by other factors such as exercise-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. The clinical implications of these physiological adaptations are profound. Exercise impacts on the development of atherosclerosis and on the incidence of primary and secondary cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and stroke. Exercise also plays a role in the amelioration of other chronic diseases that possess a vascular etiology, including diabetes and dementia. The mechanisms responsible for these effects of exercise on the vasculature are both primary and secondary in nature, in that the benefits conferred by changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as lipid profiles and blood pressure occur in concert with direct effects of arterial shear stress and mechanotransduction. From an evolutionary perspective, exercise is an essential stimulus for the maintenance of vascular health: exercise is vascular medicine .
Key findings
- The clinical implications of these physiological adaptations are profound.
- Exercise impacts on the development of atherosclerosis and on the incidence of primary and secondary cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and stroke.
- Exercise also plays a role in the amelioration of other chronic diseases that possess a vascular etiology, including diabetes and dementia.
- The mechanisms responsible for these effects of exercise on the vasculature are both primary and secondary in nature, in that the benefits conferred by changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as lipid profiles and blood pressure occur in concert with direct effects of arterial shear stress and mechanotransduction.
- From an evolutionary perspective, exercise is an essential stimulus for the maintenance of vascular health: exercise is vascular medicine .
Why it matters
This review describes how exercise affects blood vessels and notes that exercise plays a role in conditions with a vascular cause, including dementia. It does not report any trial showing that exercise prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on impact for its field and year, so that was left out: it earned 40 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine: journal h-index 197 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 195 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.5 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 90 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Kurt J. Smith: h-index 35 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Western Australia: institution h-index 1,026 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28432115) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 40 / 94 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 40 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a029819
- PubMed: 28432115
- Original source →
- Free full text: Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Green, D. J., & Smith, K. J. (2018). Effects of Exercise on Vascular Function, Structure, and Health in Humans. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a029819
Vancouver
Green DJ, Smith KJ. Effects of Exercise on Vascular Function, Structure, and Health in Humans. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. 2018. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a029819. PMID: 28432115.
BibTeX
@article{green2018-28432115,
author = {Green, D. J. and Smith, K. J.},
title = {{Effects of Exercise on Vascular Function, Structure, and Health in Humans}},
journal = {Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1101/cshperspect.a029819},
pmid = {28432115},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a029819}
}
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