Abstract
Purpose
This study tested the hypothesis that blood pressure responses would increase relative to force production in response to prolonged bouts of muscular work.
Methods
Fifteen individuals performed two minutes of static handgrip (SHG; 35% MVC), followed by three minutes of post-exercise-cuff-occlusion (PECO), before and after thirty minutes of rest (control), or rhythmic handgrip exercise (RHG) of the contralateral and ipsilateral forearms. Beat-by-beat recordings of mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and handgrip force (kg) were averaged across one-minute periods at baseline, and minutes 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 of RHG. MAP was also normalized to handgrip force, providing a relative measure of exercise pressor responses (mmHg/kg). Hemodynamic responses to SHG and PECO were also compared before and after contralateral RHG, ipsilateral RHG, and control, respectively. Similar to the RHG trial, areas under the curve were calculated for MAP (blood pressure index; BPI) and normalized to the time tension index (BPInorm).
Results
HR and MAP significantly increased during RHG (15.3 ± 1.4% and 20.4 ± 3.2%, respectively, both p < 0.01), while force output decreased by up to 36.6 ± 8.0% (p < 0.01). This resulted in a 51.6 ± 9.4% increase in BPInorm during 30 min of RHG (p < 0.01). In contrast, blood pressure responses to SHG and PECO were unchanged following RHG (all p ≥ 0.07), and only the mean HR (4.2 ± 1.5%, p = 0.01) and ΔHR (67.2 ± 18.1%, p < 0.01) response to SHG were exaggerated following ipsilateral RHG.
Conclusions
The magnitude of exercise pressor responses relative to force production progressively increases during, but not following, prolonged bouts of muscular work.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to data sharing policies of the host institution. However, data may be made available by the corresponding author upon reasonable request, and with the permission of the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Marshall Dearmon, Havens Lane Wise, Anabelle Vallecillo-Bustos, and Diavion Stanfield for their assistance with this study. The authors would also like to thank DeAnna Greer, Anne Speed, and Brandy Lowe for their administrative support. Lastly, the authors would like to thank all the participants who committed their time and effort to the completion of this study.
Funding
Funding was provided by Aubrey Keith and Ella Gin Lucas Endowment for Faculty Excellence and the University of Southern Mississippi.
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JS conceptualized the initial study idea and designed the study protocol. JS, TN, and RA collected, analyzed, and interpreted the raw data. JS prepared figures and drafted the manuscript, and all authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Communicated by I. Mark Olfert.
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Stavres, J., Aultman, R.S. & Newsome, T.A. Exercise pressor responses are exaggerated relative to force production during, but not following, thirty-minutes of rhythmic handgrip exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 124, 1547–1559 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05390-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05390-2