Effects of posture on peripheral vascular responses to lower body positive pressure

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that peripheral vascular responses (in the lower and upper limbs) to application of lower body positive pressure (LBPP) are dependent on the posture of the subjects. We measured heart rate, stroke volume, mean arterial pressure, leg and forearm blood flow (using the Doppler ultrasound technique), and leg (LVC) and forearm (FVC) vascular conductance in 11 subjects (9 men, 2 women) without and with LBPP (25 and 50 mmHg) in supine and upright postures. Mean arterial pressure increased in proportion to increases in LBPP and was greater in supine than in upright subjects. Heart rate was unchanged when LBPP was applied to supine subjects but was reduced in upright ones. Leg blood flow and LVC were both reduced by LBPP in supine subjects [LVC: 4.8 (SD 4.0), 3.6 (SD 3.5), and 1.4 (SD 1.8) ml.min(-1).mmHg(-1) before LBPP and during 25 and 50 mmHg LBPP, respectively; P < 0.05] but were increased in upright ones [LVC: 2.0 (SD 1.2), 3.4 (SD 3.4), and 3.0 (SD 2.0) ml.min(-1).mmHg(-1), respectively; P < 0.05]. Forearm blood flow and FVC both declined when LBPP was applied to supine subjects [FVC: 1.3 (SD 0.6), 1.0 (SD 0.4), and 0.9 (SD 0.6) ml. min(-1).mmHg(-1), respectively; P < 0.05] but remained unchanged in upright ones [FVC: 0.7 (SD 0.4), 0.7 (SD 0.4), and 0.6 (SD 0.5) ml.min(-1).mmHg(-1), respectively]. Together, these findings indicate that the leg vascular response to application of LBPP is posture dependent and that the response differs in the lower and upper limbs when subjects assume an upright posture.