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Physiologic and structural indices of vascular function in paraplegics.
J S Shenberger1, G J Leaman, M M Neumyer
1Department of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey 17033.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|February 1, 1990
Summary
Chronic upper extremity activity enhances forearm vasodilation. Studies show paraplegics exhibit greater reactive hyperemia blood flow and larger brachial artery diameter, indicating improved vascular function and structure.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Vascular Biology
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Chronic physical activity impacts vascular health.
- Understanding adaptations in forearm vasculature is crucial for assessing training effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if chronic forearm activity increases structural and physiological indices of peripheral forearm vasodilation.
- To compare vascular function in individuals with high arm work (paraplegics) versus able-bodied controls.
Main Methods:
- Measured peak reactive hyperemic blood flow (RHBF) after arterial occlusion.
- Assessed brachial artery diameter using velocity and forearm blood flow measurements.
- Compared a group of wheelchair-confined paraplegics with able-bodied control subjects.
Main Results:
- Paraplegics demonstrated significantly greater RHBF compared to controls (53.8 vs. 38.2 ml.min-1.100 ml-1).
- Paraplegics exhibited a larger resting brachial artery diameter (0.4 cm) than controls (0.3 cm).
- Both findings were statistically significant (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Chronic upper extremity activity leads to enhanced acute vasodilation capacity in resistance vessels.
- Structural dilation of large conductance vessels (brachial artery) is also observed with chronic activity.
Keywords:
Non-programmatic