The acute effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on coagulation and cardiovascular factorsShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Physiological Genomics, ISSN 1094-8341, E-ISSN 1531-2267, Vol. 57, no 6, p. 391-402Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can potentially be used to prevent venous thromboembolism; however, its impact on coagulation-related factors remains poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the acute effects on coagulation- and cardiovascular factors immediately after a 2-h NMES session. Levels of overall hemostatic potential (OHP), fibrinogen, factor VIII, and Olink proteomic cardiovascular factors were assessed before and after the NMES session in 36 healthy participants (20 males and 16 females) with a mean age of 31.9 yr. NMES was administered using integrated textile electrodes in pants (NMES pants). Mean intensities during the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus muscle stimulation were 16.5, 20.5, and 25.4 mA, respectively, corresponding to submaximal intensity levels with acceptable discomfort (just below 4 on the visual analogue scale [VAS], 0–10). The NMES session resulted in a significant increase in mean (SD) OHP [94.4 (28.3) to 103 (31.0)], and overall coagulation potential [292 (50.4) to 307(49.8)], and a decrease in overall fibrinolytic potential [68.2 (5.46) to 67.1 (5.20)]. These changes were highly correlated with the increase in fibrinogen (all R > 0.7, P ≤ 0.001), but not with the increase in factor VIII. In addition, 18 of 92 cardiovascular proteins, specifically those involved in regulating inflammation and extracellular matrix remodeling, were influenced by NMES; however, low correlations were found between the changes in these proteins and OHP analyses. In conclusion, the NMES session resulted in a slight increase in the coagulative state, mirroring that seen after a bout of regular exercise. The changes observed in cardiovascular factors, which are mostly not directly related to coagulation, suggest that NMES may subsequently modulate inflammatory responses, warranting further investigation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. Vol. 57, no 6, p. 391-402
Keywords [en]
electrical stimulation therapy, overall hemostatic potential, proteomics, smart textiles, venous thromboembolism
National Category
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disease
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-33553DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00172.2024ISI: 001487877200001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105005465273OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-33553DiVA, id: diva2:1961089
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2017-00202Vinnova, 2019-054792025-05-262025-05-262025-09-24Bibliographically approved