Joyner, Michael J.

Hypoxic vasodilation in skeletal muscle at rest is known to include β-adrenergic receptor-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) release. We previously reported that the augmented skeletal muscle vasodilation during mild hypoxic forearm exercise includes β-adrenergic mechanisms. However, it is unclear whether a β-adrenergic receptor-stimulated NO component exists during hypoxic exercise. We hypothesized that NO-mediated vasodilation becomes independent of β-adrenergic receptor activation with increased exercise intensity during hypoxic exercise. Ten subjects (7 men, 3 women; 23 ± 1 yr) breathed hypoxic gas to titrate arterial O2 saturation to 80% while remaining normocapnic. Subjects performed two consecutive bouts of incremental rhythmic forearm exercise (10% and 20% of maximum) with local administration (via a brachial artery catheter) of propranolol (β-adrenergic receptor inhibition) alone and with the combination of propranolol and nitric oxide synthase inhibition [ NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (l-NMMA)] under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Forearm blood flow (FBF, ml/min; Doppler ultrasound) and blood pressure [mean arterial pressure (MAP), mmHg; brachial artery catheter] were assessed, and forearm vascular conductance (FVC, ml·min−1·100 mmHg−1) was calculated (FBF/MAP). During propranolol alone, the rise in FVC (Δ from normoxic baseline) due to hypoxic exercise was 217 ± 29 and 415 ± 41 ml·min−1·100 mmHg−1 (10% and 20% of maximum, respectively). Combined propranolol-l-NMMA infusion during hypoxic exercise attenuated ΔFVC at 20% (352 ± 44 ml·min−1·100 mmHg−1; P < 0.001) but not at 10% (202 ± 28 ml·min−1·100 mmHg−1; P = 0.08) of maximum compared with propranolol alone. These data, when integrated with earlier findings, demonstrate that NO contributes to the compensatory vasodilation during mild and moderate hypoxic exercise; a β-adrenergic receptor-stimulated NO component exists during low-intensity hypoxic exercise. However, the source of the NO becomes less dependent on β-adrenergic mechanisms as exercise intensity increases.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the cardiac and sympathetic baroreflex sensitivities within healthy, young humans. The sensitivities of the cardiac and sympathetic baroreflexes were compared in 53 normotensive individuals (28 men and 25 women; age: 24.0±0.9 years; body mass index: 24.0±0.3 cm/kg 2 , mean±SEM). Heart rate, arterial blood pressure, and peroneal muscle sympathetic nerve activity were recorded under resting conditions (heart rate: 58±1 bpm; systolic blood pressure: 126±2 mm Hg; diastolic blood pressure: 72±1 mm Hg; mean arterial blood pressure: 89±1 mm Hg; muscle sympathetic nerve activity: 18±1 bursts per min) and during rapid changes in blood pressure induced by sequential boluses of nitroprusside and phenylephrine. Cardiac and sympathetic baroreflex sensitivities were analyzed using the slopes of the linear portions of the muscle sympathetic nerve activity-diastolic blood pressure and R-R interval-systolic blood pressure relationships, respectively. When individual cardiac baroreflex sensitivity was compared with sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity, no correlation (R-R interval: r =−0.13; heart rate: r =0.21) was observed when studied as a group. Analysis by sex unveiled a correlation in women between the cardiac and sympathetic baroreflex sensitivities (R-R interval: r =−0.54; P =0.01; no correlation with hazard ratio: r =0.29). No relationship was found in men (R-R interval: r =0.17; heart rate: r =0.12). These results indicate that, although both cardiac and sympathetic efferents function in baroreflex control of arterial pressure, there is no correlation in their sensitivities within healthy normotensive humans. However, sex-stratified data indicate that sex-based differential correlations might exist.

The vasodilator signals regulating muscle blood flow during exercise are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that in young adults leg muscle vasodilation during steady-state exercise would be reduced independently by sequential pharmacological inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) with NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) and ketorolac, respectively. We tested a second hypothesis that NOS and COX inhibition would increase leg oxygen consumption (V̇o2) based on the reported inhibition of mitochondrial respiration by nitric oxide. In 13 young adults, we measured heart rate (ECG), blood pressure (femoral venous and arterial catheters), blood gases, and venous oxygen saturation (indwelling femoral venous oximeter) during prolonged (25 min) steady-state dynamic knee extension exercise (60 kick/min, 19 W). Leg blood flow (LBF) was determined by Doppler ultrasound of the femoral artery. Whole body V̇o2 was measured, and leg V̇o2 was calculated from blood gases and LBF. Resting intra-arterial infusions of acetylcholine (ACh) and nitroprusside (NTP) tested inhibitor efficacy. Leg vascular conductance (LVC) to ACh was reduced up to 53 ± 4% by l-NAME + ketorolac infusion, and the LVC responses to NTP were unaltered. Exercise increased LVC from 4 ± 1 to 33.1 ± 2 ml·min−1·mmHg−1 and tended to decrease after l-NAME infusion (31 ± 2 ml·min−1·mmHg−1, P = 0.09). With subsequent administration of ketorolac LVC decreased to 29.6 ± 2 ml·min−1·mmHg−1 ( P = 0.02; n = 9). While exercise continued, LVC returned to control values (33 ± 2 ml·min−1·mmHg−1) within 3 min, suggesting involvement of additional vasodilator mechanisms. In four additional subjects, LVC tended to decrease with l-NAME infusion alone ( P = 0.08) but did not demonstrate the transient recovery. Whole body and leg V̇o2 increased with exercise but were not altered by l-NAME or l-NAME + ketorolac. These data indicate a modest role for NOS- and COX-mediated vasodilation in the leg of exercising humans during prolonged steady-state exercise, which can be restored acutely. Furthermore, NOS and COX do not appear to influence muscle V̇o2 in untrained healthy young adults.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a 3-month interval walking program on peak aerobic capacity and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged sedentary individuals. Participants were divided into 2 groups: a nontraining control group (n = 17) and an interval walking training group (n = 29). Participants in the interval walking training group were instructed to perform 5 or more sets of 3-min low-intensity walking interspersed by 3-min of moderate to high-intensity walking (>70% of peak aerobic capacity) on 4 or more days/week. Measurements of peak aerobic capacity, blood pressure, blood lipids, and glucose concentration were performed before and after training. Twenty-six individuals completed the interval walking program averaging 4 days/week for 34 min, of which 16 min were moderate to high-intensity walking, with a total energy expenditure of 776 kcal/week. Three months of interval walking increased peak aerobic capacity (from 20.4 ± 3.0 to 26.0 ± 5.2 mL/kg/min; P < .001) and reduced resting systolic blood pressure (127 ± 11 to 119 ± 11 mm Hg; P = .01). There was an inverse correlation between initial level and training-induced changes in glucose, HbA1c, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein. Conversely, 3 months of nontraining did not improve physical fitness or cardiovascular risk factors. Very modest amounts of aerobic exercise involving brief periods of interspersed higher intensity exercise can significantly increase peak aerobic capacity and reduce resting systolic blood pressure in middle-aged sedentary individuals and contribute to a normalization of cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with elevated initial values.

As our understanding of the importance of individualized medicine continues to grow, the clinical relevance of interindividual variability in hemodynamic variables is receiving increasing attention. However, it is not known whether the rat, which is often used for studies of cardiovascular regulation, exhibits similar interindividual variability. In the present study, we evaluated whether the magnitude of interindividual variability in cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) was similar in humans and in rats. We assessed interindividual variability of mean arterial pressure (MAP), CO, and TPR during control conditions in normotensive humans ( n = 40) and during normotension and deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension in Sprague-Dawley rats ( n = 16). Humans and rats showed marked interindividual variability in CO and TPR but low variability in MAP. During deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension, CO was maintained, but TPR was elevated compared with the baseline period. We conclude that the magnitudes of interindividual variability of MAP, CO, and TPR are quantitatively similar in humans and rats, providing support for the relevance of this variability in both species and suggesting that studies in rats could be designed to address questions specific to individualized medicine in hypertension.