Previous work assessing the presence of myogenic responses in humans has primarily used experimental manipulations to evoke robust changes in transmural pressure. Although providing evidence for a myogenic response, such manipulations do not provide information about potential contributions of myogenic responses to beat-to-beat limb blood flow control during unprovoked resting conditions. Therefore, we explored spontaneous beat-to-beat relationships between arterial blood pressure (Finapres) and limb blood flow (duplex Doppler ultrasound in brachial and popliteal arteries) during 10 min of quiet supine rest in 15 young men. In addition, considering previous work demonstrating the presence of a myogenic response in the cutaneous circulation, measurements in the brachial artery were repeated with a wrist cuff inflated to 220 mmHg to occlude the hand circulation and thus, eliminate a major portion of skin blood flow. Cross correlations between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and blood flow were determined using Pearson correlations in which MAP values were systematically offset by ±10 cardiac cycles relative to its real time associated blood flow. Repeated measures ANOVA was used for comparisons and data are presented as means ± standard errors. For both the brachial and popliteal artery, limb blood flow was negatively influenced by MAP such that higher pressures were associated with lower blood flows and vice versa. Indeed, significant negative correlations between MAP and blood flow were observed in both arteries (Figure 1A). Furthermore, the strongest negative relationship was observed when MAP was offset by 2 preceding heartbeats suggesting a consistent time-lag was present. Interestingly, the negative relationship between MAP and brachial artery blood flow was significantly attenuated by wrist occlusion (Figure 1B). These preliminary findings suggest that myogenic responses are detectable on a beat-to-beat basis in human limbs and contribute to the regulation of resting limb blood flow. Furthermore, it appears that the cutaneous circulation is necessary to fully observe the influence of the myogenic response in the forearm. However; partitioning the contributions of cutaneous and skeletal muscle circulations to the observed myogenic responses requires further investigation.
37th Congress of IUPS (Birmingham, UK) (2013) Proc 37th IUPS, PCA258
Poster Communications: Evidence for beat-to-beat myogenic responses in the regulation of resting limb blood flow in man
P. J. Fadel1, S. T. Fairfax1, M. Takahashi2, M. J. Davis1, J. Padilla1
1. Medical Pharmacology & Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States. 2. Institute of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
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Where applicable, experiments conform with Society ethical requirements.