Altered heart rate-arterial pressure relation during head-out water immersion in conscious dog

The influence of head-out water immersion (WI) (37 degrees C) on baroreflex control of heart rate was studied in five trained, instrumented, conscious dogs. Arterial pressure was raised and lowered using occluder cuffs implanted around the aorta and inferior vena cava. Function curves relating transmural systolic arterial pressure (TSAP = systolic arterial pressure-pleural pressure) to heart rate (HR) were constructed to compare responses in air and during WI. The resting TSAP in air [142 +/- 8 mmHg (mean +/- SE) at 78 +/- 6 beats/min] increased significantly during WI (161 +/- 9 mmHg at 109 +/- 9 beats/min). During WI, the saturation TSAP at the bradycardia plateau of the relation increased significantly, by 19 mmHg, whereas the average gain (slope) of the relation decreased significantly, from -1.426 to -0.752 beats.min-1.mmHg-1. Therefore, WI elicits both a resetting and a decrease of the average gain of the TSAP-HR relation. The heart rate range increased during WI as well. After cholinergic blockade with atropine, WI did not elicit a resetting of the relation and the change in average gain was abolished. However, after beta 1-blockade with metoprolol, the resting TSAP increased significantly during WI and resetting persisted, but the decrease of average gain was abolished. Therefore, the alteration of the TSAP-HR relation in WI is achieved via a modulation of both adrenergic and cholinergic regulation of HR.