Peripheral chemoreflex and baroreflex interactions in cardiovascular regulation in humans

We tested the hypothesis that activation of peripheral chemoreceptors with acute isocapnic hypoxia resets arterial baroreflex control of both heart rate and sympathetic vasoconstrictor outflow to higher pressures, resulting in increased heart rate and muscle sympathetic nerve activity without changes in baroreflex sensitivity. We further hypothesized that this resetting would not occur during isocapnic hyperpnoea at the same breathing rate and depth as during isocapnic hypoxia. In 12 healthy, non-smoking, normotensive subjects (6 women, 6 men, 19-36 years), we assessed baroreflex control of heart rate and muscle sympathetic nerve activity using the modified Oxford technique during normoxia, isocapnic hyperpnoea, and isocapnic hypoxia (85 % arterial O2 saturation). While isocapnic hyperpnoea did not alter heart rate, arterial pressure, or sympathetic outflow, hypoxia increased heart rate from 61.9 +/- 1.8 to 74.7 +/- 2.7 beats min-1 (P < 0.05), increased mean arterial pressure from 97.4 +/- 2.0 to 103.9 +/- 3.3 mmHg (P < 0.05), and increased sympathetic activity 22 +/- 13 % relative to normoxia and 72 +/- 21 % (P < 0.05) relative to hyperpnoea alone. The sensitivity for baroreflex control of both heart rate and sympathetic activity was not altered by either hypoxia or hyperpnoea. Thus, it appears that acute activation of peripheral chemoreceptors with isocapnic hypoxia resets baroreflex control of both heart rate and sympathetic activity to higher pressures without changes in baroreflex sensitivity. Furthermore, these effects appear largely independent of breathing rate and tidal volume.