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Will stripping of the great saphenous vein for venous insufficiency also improve the rise in arterial leg blood flow during exercise?
Author(s) -
Nadland Inger Helene,
Wesche Jarlis,
Sheriff Don,
Toska Karin
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.804.11
Subject(s) - supine position , medicine , blood flow , cardiology , great saphenous vein , perfusion , skeletal muscle , lower limbs venous ultrasonography , calf muscle , hemodynamics , anatomy , vein
Competent venous valves and the leg muscle pump are important for adequate return of blood to the heart. However, the role of this muscle pump for the rise in arterial blood flow to active skeletal muscle is incompletely understood. We have shown that the leg muscle pump does indeed increase muscle perfusion during upright exercise in healthy subjects (Nådland et al. Eup J appl physiol 2009), and that this mechanism is absent in patients with isolated insufficiency of the great saphenous vein (GSV) (FASEB J 23: 777.3, 2009). In the present study we investigated the muscle pump effect on the rise in muscle perfusion in these patients after treatment for GSV insufficiency, i.e. after stripping of the GSV (N=8). Beat‐to‐beat femoral artery blood flow (Ultrasound Doppler) was recorded continuously during calf exercise in supine and 30 degree head up tilted (HUT) positions. Because arterial and venous pressures in the legs increase with the height of a hydrostatic column, any muscle pump effect is more pronounced in an upright position. Thus the rise in blood flow from rest to exercise in the supine and in the 30 degree HUT positions was compared. The rise in femoral flow within 15 seconds of the start of exercise was 0.20 and 0.28 L/min above rest in the supine and HUT positions, respectively. These results indicate GSV stripping can improve the leg muscle pump effect on the rise in arterial leg blood flow during muscle work in these patients.