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The ventricular-vascular relationship assesses the efficacy of energy transferred from the left ventricle to the systemic circulation and is quantified as the ratio of effective arterial elastance to maximal left ventricular elastance. This relationship is maintained during exercise via reflex increases in cardiovascular performance raising both arterial and ventricular elastance in parallel. These changes are, in part, due to reflexes engendered by activation of metabosensitive skeletal muscle afferents—termed the muscle metaboreflex. However, in heart failure, ventricular-vascular uncoupling is apparent and muscle metaboreflex activation worsens this relationship through enhanced systemic vasoconstriction markedly increasing effective arterial elastance which is unaccompanied by substantial increases in ventricular function. This enhanced arterial vasoconstriction is, in part, due to significant reductions in cardiac performance induced by heart failure causing over—stimulation of the metaboreflex due to under perfusion of active skeletal muscle, but also as a result of reduced baroreflex buffering of the muscle metaboreflex-induced peripheral sympatho-activation. To what extent the arterial baroreflex modifies the metaboreflex-induced changes in effective arterial elastance is unknown. We investigated in chronically instrumented conscious canines if removal of baroreflex input via sino-aortic baroreceptor denervation (SAD) would significantly enhance effective arterial elastance in normal animals and whether this would be amplified after induction of heart failure. We observed that effective arterial elastance (Ea), was significantly increased during muscle metaboreflex activation after SAD (0.4 ± 0.1 mmHg/mL to 1.4 ± 0.3 mmHg/mL). In heart failure, metaboreflex activation caused exaggerated increases in Ea and in this setting, SAD significantly increased the rise in Ea elicited by muscle metaboreflex activation (1.3 ± 0.3 mmHg/mL to 2.3 ± 0.3 mmHg/mL). Thus, we conclude that the arterial baroreflex does buffer muscle metaboreflex induced increases in Ea and this buffering likely has effects on the ventricular-vascular coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cardiopulmonary baroreflex responds to an increase in central venous pressure (CVP) by decreasing total peripheral resistance and increasing heart rate (HR) in dogs. However, the direction of ventricular contractility change is not well understood. The aim was to elucidate the cardiopulmonary baroreflex control of ventricular contractility during normal physiological conditions via a mathematical analysis. Spontaneous beat-to-beat fluctuations in maximal ventricular elastance (Emax), which is perhaps the best available index of ventricular contractility, CVP, arterial blood pressure (ABP), and HR were measured from awake dogs at rest before and after β-adrenergic receptor blockade. An autoregressive exogenous input model was employed to jointly identify the three causal transfer functions relating beat-to-beat fluctuations in CVP to Emax (CVP → Emax), which characterizes the cardiopulmonary baroreflex control of ventricular contractility, ABP to Emax, which characterizes the arterial baroreflex control of ventricular contractility, and HR to Emax, which characterizes the force-frequency relation. The CVP → Emax transfer function showed a static gain of 0.037 0.010 ml-1 (different from zero; P < 0.05) and an overall time constant of 3.2 ± 1.2 s. Hence, Emax would increase and reach steady state in ˜16 s in response to a step increase in CVP, without any change to ABP or HR, due to the cardiopulmonary baroreflex. Following β-adrenergic receptor blockade, the CVP → Emax transfer function showed a static gain of 0.0007 ± 0.0113 ml-1 (different from control; P < 0.10). Hence, Emax would change little in steady state in response to a step increase in CVP. Stimulation of the cardiopulmonary baroreflex increases ventricular contractility through β-adrenergic receptor system mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated to what extent maximal ventricular elastance (Emax) is dynamically controlled by the arterial baroreflex and force-frequency relation in conscious dogs and to what extent these mechanisms are attenuated after the induction of heart failure (HF). We mathematically analyzed spontaneous beat-to-beat hemodynamic variability. First, we estimated Emax for each beat during a baseline period using the ventricular unstressed volume determined with the traditional multiple beat method during vena cava occlusion. We then jointly identified the transfer functions (system gain value and time delay per frequency) relating beat-to-beat fluctuations in arterial blood pressure (ABP) to Emax (ABP→Emax) and beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate (HR) to Emax (HR→Emax) to characterize the dynamic properties of the arterial baroreflex and force-frequency relation, respectively. During the control condition, the ABP→Emax transfer function revealed that ABP perturbations caused opposite direction Emax changes with a gain value of -0.023 ± 0.012 ml-1, whereas the HR→Emax transfer function indicated that HR alterations caused same direction Emax changes with a gain value of 0.013 ± 0.005 mmHg∙ml-1∙(beats/min)-1. Both transfer functions behaved as low-pass filters. However, the ABP→Emax transfer function was more sluggish than the HR→Emax transfer function with overall time constants (indicator of full system response time to a sudden input change) of 11.2 ± 2.8 and 1.7 ± 0.5 s (P < 0.05), respectively. During the HF condition, the ABP→Emax and HR→Emax transfer functions were markedly depressed with gain values reduced to -0.0002 ± 0.007 ml-1 and -0.001 ± 0.004 mmHg∙ml-1∙(beats/min)-1 (P < 0.1). Emax is rapidly and significantly controlled at rest, but this modulation is virtually abolished in HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemia of active skeletal muscle elicits a pressor response termed the muscle metaboreflex. We tested the hypothesis that in normal dogs during dynamic exercise, graded muscle metaboreflex activation (MMA) would progressively attenuate spontaneous heart rate baroreflex sensitivity (SBRS). The animals were chronically instrumented to measure heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), mean and systolic arterial pressure (MAP and SAP), and left ventricular systolic pressures (LVSP) at rest and during mild or moderate treadmill exercise before and during progressive MMA [via graded reductions of hindlimb blood flow (HLBF)]. SBRS [slopes of the linear relationships (LRs) between HR and LVSP or SAP during spontaneous sequences of ⩾3 consecutive beats when HR changed inversely vs. pressure] decreased during mild exercise from the resting values (-5.56 ± 0.86 vs. -2.67 ± 0.50 beats·min-1·mmHg-1, P <0.05), and in addition, these LRs were shifted upward. Progressive MMA gradually and linearly increased MAP, CO, and HR; linearly decreased SBRS; and shifted LRs upward and rightward to higher HR and pressures denoting baroreflex resetting. Moderate exercise caused a substantial reduction in SBRS (-1.57 ± 0.38 beats·min-1·mmHg-1,P <0.05) and both an upward and rightward resetting. Gradual MMA at this higher workload also caused significant progressive increases in MAP, CU, and HR and progressive decreases in SBRS, and the LRs were shifted to higher MAP and HR. Our results demonstrate that gradual MMA during mild and moderate dynamic exercise progressively decreases SBRS. In addition, baroreflex control of HR is progressively reset to higher blood pressure and HR in proportion to the extent of MMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic cardiac baroreflex responses are frequently investigated by analyzing the spontaneous reciprocal changes in arterial pressure and heart rate (HR). However, whether the spontaneous baroreflex-induced changes in HR translate into changes in cardiac output (CO) is unknown. In addition, this linkage between changes in HR and changes in CO may be different in subjects with heart failure (HF). We examined these questions using conscious dogs before and after pacing-induced HF. Spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity in the control of HR and CO was evaluated as the slopes of the linear relationships between HR or CO and left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) during spontaneous sequences of greater or equal to three consecutive beats when HR or CO changed inversely versus pressure. Further- more, the translation of baroreflex HR responses into CO responses (HR-CO translation) was examined by computing the overlap between HR and CO sequences. In normal resting conditions, 44.0 ± 4.4% of HR sequences overlapped with CO sequences, suggesting that only around half of the baroreflex HR responses cause CO responses. In HF, HR-LVSP, CO-LVSP, and the HR-CO translation significantly decreased compared with the normal condition (-2.29 ± 0.5 vs. -5.78 ± 0.7 beats·min-1·mmHg-1 -70.95 ± 11.8 vs. -229.89 ± 29.6 ml·min-1·mmHg-1; and 19.66 ± 4.9 vs. 44.0 ± 4.4%, respectively). We conclude that spontaneous baroreflex HR responses do not always cause changes in CO. In addition, HF significantly decreases HR-LVSP, CO-LVSP, and HR-CO translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

do! have previously shown that spontaneous baroreflex-induced changes in heart rate (HR) do not always translate into changes in cardiac output (CO) at rest. We have also shown that heart failure (HF) decreases this linkage between changes in HR and CO. Whether dynamic exercise and muscle metaboreflex activation (via imposed reductions in hindlimb blood flow) further alter this translation in normal and HF conditions is unknown. We examined these questions using conscious, chronically instrumented dogs before and after pacing-induced HF during mild and moderate dynamic exercise with and without muscle metaboreflex activation. We measured left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), CO, and HR and analyzed the spontaneous HR-LVSP and CO-LVSP relationships. In normal animals, mild exercise significantly decreased HR-LVSP (-3.08 ± 0.5 vs. -5.14 ± 0.6 beats·min-1·mmHg-1; P < 0.05) and CO-LVSP (-134.74 ± 24.5 vs. -208.6 ± 22.2 ml·min-1·mmHg-1; P < 0.05). Moderate exercise further decreased both and, in addition, significantly reduced HR-CO translation (25.9 ± 2.8% vs. 52.3 ± 4.2%; P < 0.05). Muscle metaboreflex activation at both workloads decreased HR-LVSP, whereas it had no significant effect on CO-LVSP and the HR-CO translation. HF significantly decreased HR-LVSP, CO-LVSP, and the HR-CO translation in all situations. We conclude that spontaneous baroreflex HR responses do not always cause changes in CO during exercise. Moreover, muscle metaboreflex activation during mild and moderate dynamic exercise reduces this coupling. In addition, in HF the HR-CO translation also significantly decreases during both workloads and decreases even further with muscle metaboreflex activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoperfusion of active skeletal muscle elicits a reflex pressor response termed the muscle metaboreflex. Dynamic exercise attenuates spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (SBRS) in the control of heart rate (HR) during rapid, spontaneous changes in blood pressure (BP). Our objective was to determine whether muscle metaboreflex activation (MRA) further diminishes SBRS. Conscious dogs were chronically instrumented for measurement of HR, cardiac output, mean arterial pressure, and left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) at rest and during mild (3.2 km/h) or moderate (6.4 km/h at 10% grade) dynamic exercise before and after MRA (via partial reduction of hindlimb blood flow). SBRS was evaluated as the slopes of the linear relations (LRs) between HR and LVSP during spontaneous sequences of at least three consecutive beats when HR changed inversely vs. pressure (expressed as beats·min-1·mmHg-1). During mild exercise, these LRs shifted upward, with a significant decrease in SBRS (-3.0 ± 0.4 vs. -5.2 ± 0.4, P < 0.05 vs. rest). MRA shifted LRs upward and rightward and decreased SBRS (-2.1 ± 0.1, P < 0.05 vs. mild exercise). Moderate exercise shifted LRs upward and rightward and significantly decreased SBRS (-1.2 ± 0.1, P < 0.05 vs. rest). MRA elicited further upward and rightward shifts of the LRs and reductions in SBRS (-0.9 ± 0.1, P < 0.05 vs. moderate exercise). We conclude that dynamic exercise resets the arterial baroreflex to higher BP and HR as exercise intensity increases. In addition, increases in exercise intensity, as well as MRA, attenuate SBRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedback control of total peripheral resistance (TPR) by the arterial and cardiopulmonary baroreflex systems is an important mechanism for short-term blood pressure regulation. Existing methods for measuring this TPR baroreflex mechanism typically aim to quantify only the gain value of one baroreflex system as it operates in open-loop conditions. As a result, the normal, integrated functioning of the arterial and cardiopulmonary baroreflex control of TPR remains to be fully elucidated. To this end, the laboratory of Mukkamala et al. (Mukkamala R, Toska K, and Cohen RJ. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 284: H947-H959, 2003) previously proposed a potentially noninvasive technique for estimating the closed-loop (dimensionless) gain values of the arterial TPR baroreflex (GA) and the cardiopulmonary TPR baroreflex (GC) by mathematical analysis of the subtle, beat-to-beat fluctuations in arterial blood pressure, cardiac output, and stroke volume. Here, we review the technique with additional details and describe its experimental evaluation with respect to spontaneous hemodynamic variability measured from seven conscious dogs, before and after chronic arterial baroreceptor denervation. The technique was able to correctly predict the group-average changes in GA and GC that have previously been shown to occur following chronic arterial baroreceptor denervation. That is, reflex control by the arterial TPR baroreftex was virtually abolished (GA = -2.1 ± 0.6 to 0.3 ± 0.2; P < 0.05), while reflex control by the cardiopulmonary TPR baroreflex more than doubled (GC = -0.7 ± 0.4 to -1.8 ± 0.2; P < 0.05). With further successful experimental testing, the technique may ultimately be employed to advance the basic understanding of TPR baroreflex functioning in both humans and animals in health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that heart failure (HF) or sinoaortic denervation (SAD) alters the strength and mechanisms of the muscle metaboreflex during dynamic exercise. However, it is still unknown to what extent SAD may modify the muscle metaboreflex in HF. Therefore, we quantified the contribution of cardiac output (CO) and peripheral vasoconstriction to metaboreflex-mediated increases in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) in conscious, chronically instrumented dogs before and after induction of HF in both barointact and SAD conditions during mild and moderate exercise. The muscle metaboreflex was activated via partial reductions in hindlimb blood flow. After SAD, the metaboreflex pressor responses were significantly higher with respect to the barointact condition despite lower CO responses. The pressor response was significantly lower in HF after SAD but still higher than that of HF in the barointact condition. During control experiments in the barointact condition, total vascular conductance summed from all beds except the hindlimbs did not change with muscle metaboreflex activation, whereas in the SAD condition both before and after induction of HF significant vasoconstriction occurred. We conclude that SAD substantially increased the contribution of peripheral vasoconstriction to metaboreflex-induced increases in MAP, whereas in HF SAD did not markedly alter the patterns of the reflex responses, likely reflecting that in HF the ability of the arterial baroreflex to buffer metaboreflex responses is impaired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies showed that the arterial baroreflex opposes the pressor response mediated by muscle metaboreflex activation during mild dynamic exercise. However, no studies have investigated the mechanisms contributing to metaborefiex-mediated pressor responses during dynamic exercise after arterial baroreceptor denervation. Therefore, we investigated the contribution of cardiac output (CO) and peripheral vasoconstriction in mediating the pressor response to graded reductions in hindlimb perfusion in conscious, chronically instrumented dogs before and after sinoaortic denervation (SAD) during mild and moderate exercise. In control experiments, the metaboreflex pressor responses were mediated via increases in Co. After SAD, the metaboreflex pressor responses were significantly greater and significantly smaller increases in CO occurred. During control experiments, nonischemic vascular conductance (NIVC) did not change with muscle metaboreflex activation, whereas after SAD NIVC significantly decreased with metaboreflex activation; thus SAD shifted the mechanisms of the muscle metaboreflex from mainly increases in CO to combined cardiac and peripheral vasoconstrictor responses. We conclude that the major mechanism by which the arterial baroreflex buffers the muscle metaboreflex is inhibition of metaboreflex-mediated peripheral vasoconstriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effect of muscle metaboreflex activation on left circumflex coronary blood flow (CBF), coronary vascular conductance (CVC), and regional left ventricular performance in conscious, chronically instrumented dogs during treadmill exercise before and after the induction of heart failure (HF). In control experiments, muscle metaboreflex activation during mild exercise elicited significant reflex increases in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output. CBF increased significantly, whereas no significant change in CVC occurred. There was no significant change in the minimal rate of myocardial shortening (-dl/dtmin) with muscle metaboreflex activation during mild exercise (15.5 ± 1.3 to 16.8 ± 2.4 mm/s, P > 0.05); however, the maximal rate of myocardial relaxation (+dl/dtmin) increased (from 26.3 ± 4.0 to 33.7 ± 5.7 mm/s. P < 0.05). Similar hemodynamic responses were observed with metaboreflex activation during moderate exercise, except there were significant changes in both -dl/dtmin and dl/dtmax. In contrast, during mild exercise with metaboreflex activation during HF, no significant increase in cardiac output occurred, despite a significant increase in heart rate, inasmuch as a significant decrease in stroke volume occurred as well. The increases in mean arterial pressure and CBF were attenuated, and a significant reduction in CVC was observed (0.74 ± 0.14 vs. 0.62 ± 0.12 ml·min-1·mmHg-1; P <0.05). Similar results were observed during moderate exercise in HF. Muscle metaboreflex activation did not elicit significant changes in either dl/dtmin or +dl/dtmax during mild exercise in HF. We conclude that during HF the elevated muscle metaboreflex-induced increases in sympathetic tone to the heart functionally vasoconstrict the coronary vasculature, which may limit increases in myocardial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arterial baroreflex function is well preserved during dynamic exercise in normal subjects. In subjects with heart failure (HF), arterial baroreflex ability to regulate blood pressure is impaired at rest. However, whether exercise modifies the strength and mechanisms of baroreflex responses in HF is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the relative roles of cardiac output and peripheral vasoconstriction in eliciting the pressor response to bilateral carotid occlusion (BCO) in conscious, chronically instrumented dogs at rest and during treadmill exercise ranging from mild to heavy workloads. Experiments were performed in the same animals before and after rapid ventricular pacing-induced HF. At rest, the pressor response to BCO was significantly attenuated in HF (33.3 ± 1.2 vs. 18.7 ± 2.7 mmHg), and this difference persisted during exercise in part due to lower cardiac output responses in HF. However, both before and after the induction of HF, the contribution of vasoconstriction in active skeletal muscle toward the pressor response became progressively greater as workload increased. We conclude that, although there is an impaired ability of the baroreflex to regulate arterial pressure at rest and during exercise in HF, vasoconstriction in active skeletal muscle becomes progressively more important in mediating the baroreflex pressor response as workload increases with a pattern similar to that observed in normal subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic exercise attenuates arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in the control of heart rate (HR) during rapid, spontaneous changes in blood pressure. However the effect of muscle metaboreflex activation (MRA) on BRS in this setting is unknown. Dogs were observed at rest and during mild or moderate treadmill exercise before and after MRA (via imposed hindlimb ischemia). BRS was evaluated as the slopes of the linear relationships (LRs) between left ventricular systolic pressure and HR during spontaneous sequences of ≥ 3 consecutive beats when HR changed inversely vs. pressure. During mild exercise, these LRs (expressed as bpm/mmHg) shifted upwards with a decrease in BRS (-3.0 ± 0.4 vs. -5.2 ± 0.4, P < 0.05 vs. rest). MRA caused upward and rightward shifts of the LRs and decreases in BRS (-2.1 ± 0.1, P < 0.05 vs. mild exercise). Moderate exercise shifted LRs both upward and rightward and BRS decreased (-1.2 ± 0.1, P < 0.05 vs. MRA at mild exercise). MRA elicited further upward and rightward shifts of the LRs and reductions in BRS (-0.9 ± 0.1, P < 0.05 vs. moderate exercise). We conclude that dynamic exercise resets the arterial baroreflex to higher blood pressure and HR as exercise intensity increases. In addition, increases in exercise intensity as well as MRA attenuates spontaneous BRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]