Open AccessCardiovascular response to static contraction in borderline hypertension
Author(s) -
Seals D. R.,
Hanson P. G.,
Washburn R. A.,
Painter P. L.,
Ward A.,
Nagle J.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.4960080608
Subject(s) - medicine , blood pressure , cardiology , contraction (grammar) , circulatory system , heart rate , endocrinology
Nine young males with borderline hypertension (BH) (mean age ± SD, 25 ± 5 yr) and 13 young male normotensive controls (NT) (24 ± 3 yr) were studied to determine their cardiovascular responses to small and large muscle static contractions. The subjects performed one‐arm handgrip and two‐leg extension in a randomly assigned order for 3 min at 30 % of maximal voluntary contraction. Mean intra‐arterial blood pressure (MABP), heart rate (HR), and tension were measured throughout the contractions. Borderline hypertensive patients had a higher MABP at rest (p< 0.005) and at the end of both types of static contractions (p<0.05). The average increases in MABP from rest to the end of exercise (ΔMABP) were slightly greater for the BH patients (6 mmHg), but these differences were not significant (p>0.1). However, a greater percentage of BH patients were hyperreactive to handgrip (ΔBP < 35 mmHg) and leg extension (ΔBP <40 mmHg) when compared to controls. These data indicate that, in general, young men with borderline hypertension demonstrate normal cardiovascular regulation in response to static contraction, but that a portion of this population may be hyperreactive to this type of circulatory stress.