Effects of venous distention on the respiratory and circulatory system after moderate-intensity exercise

Abstract

It is well known that elderly patients with heart failure have low tolerance to exercise. Heart disease increases the cardiac load and causes severe arrhythmias due to an increase in the afferent stimuli from peripheral tissues such as skeletal muscle and from the sympathetic nervous system. Managing risk during exercise from the peripheral factors is essential to improve the quality of life of this patient population. Previous research involved utilizing high-intensity exercise and invasive methods, but it is necessary to perform at a safe intensity to evaluate the tolerance to exercise during rehabilitation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the changes in ventilatory and circulatory indices caused by venous ischemia after moderate-intensity exercise. The participants comprised ten healthy men randomly assigned to either a venous blood flow shut off task (task1) or the venous blood flow task (task 2). After 2 days or more the tasks were switched. The protocol was performed using a moderate intensity of rest for a while and performing a 4-min cycling exercise at 200 mmHg while occluding venous outflow of the left leg. Immediately after the termination, both groups took 5 min of rest. Task 1 involved occlusion of the venous outflow using 90 mmHg applied to the left thigh. The result showed that in normal subjects, shutting off the venous blood flow did not change the ventilatory response after moderate-intensity exercise but it changed the circulation index.