Alteration of Plasma Brain Natriuretic Peptide Level After Acute Moderate Exercise in Professional Athletes

Background: Cardiac fatigue or myocardial damage following exercise until complete exhaustion can increase blood levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in athletes.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of resistance and acute moderate aerobic exercise on alterations in BNP levels in professional athletes.

Materials and Methods: Forty professional athletes who had at least 3 years of a championship background in track and field (aerobic group) or body building (resistance group) volunteered to participate in the present study. Track and field athletes (n = 20) were requested to run 8 km at 60% to 70% of maximum heart rate. Body building athletes (n = 20) performed a resistance training session of 5 exercises in 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 75% of 1 RM (bench press, seated row, leg extension, leg curl, and leg press). Before and immediately after the exercise, plasma BNP levels of both groups of athletes were measured by PATHFASTTM NT-proBNP assay, an immunochemiluminescent assay using two polyclonal antibodies in sandwich test format, on a PATHFASTTM automated analyzer.

Results: Plasma BNP levels immediately following exercise increased significantly as compared with baseline values. Plasma BNP concentrations in the aerobic group were significantly higher than in the resistance group before and after exercise. Moreover, the increase in mean BNP concentrations in aerobic athletes was 7 times more than in resistance athletes.

Conclusions: BNP levels in athlete who performed distance exercises increased significantly compared with resistance training. Possibly exercise program type, intensity of exercise, volume of exercise program, and field sport can be factors of changes in BNP levels.