Cardiovascular reflexes during isometric exercise--role of muscle mass and gravitational stress

Six healthy males performed sustained static contractions of five arm- and leg muscle groups for 2 min at 40% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) sitting and supine. Delta heart rate, blood pressure, forearm vascular resistance, and cardiac output increased during contraction incrementing increasingly in the following order: dorsi flexion of ankle, plantar flexion, third finger flexion, handgrip, and knee extension. Muscle ischemia during recovery did not change this order. The cardiovascular responses to static contraction did not relate to muscle mass involved in a simple rectilinear manner. The increments in cardiovascular responses were not reduced in the supine position, although the values were at a lower level, probably due to the combination of a decreased sympathetic nervous activity in the supine position and an increased aortic baroreceptor stimulation induced by the increased stroke volume.