Heart Rate and Blood Pressure Responses Vary Between Blood Flow Restriction Cuff Type

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Cardiovascular Response
• Resistance Training

Background:

• High load resistance exercise (HLRE) elicits significant cardiovascular responses.
• Blood flow restriction exercise (BFRE) is an alternative training method.
• The cardiovascular effects of BFRE, particularly with different occlusion devices, require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the acute cardiovascular responses (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure) to HLRE and BFRE using knee wraps (kBFRE) and pneumatic cuffs (pBFRE).
• To analyze the temporal changes in these cardiovascular variables post-exercise across different conditions.

Main Methods:

• Eleven participants (9 men, 2 women) underwent HLRE, kBFRE, and pBFRE protocols.
• Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured at rest, immediately post-exercise, and at 10, 30, and 45 minutes post-exercise.
• Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze the data, with pairwise comparisons and Sidak correction for significant findings.

Main Results:

• Significant interactions between condition and time were observed for HR, SBP, and DBP.
• HLRE resulted in higher SBP compared to both kBFRE and pBFRE immediately post-exercise.
• pBFRE attenuated the immediate post-exercise increase in HR and SBP, while kBFRE augmented the reduction in DBP at 10 and 45 minutes compared to HLRE and pBFRE, respectively.

Conclusions:

• BFRE differentially alters cardiovascular function compared to HLRE, with effects dependent on the occlusion device.
• Pneumatic cuffs may mitigate the acute increases in HR and SBP following resistance exercise.
• Knee wraps may enhance post-exercise reductions in DBP, suggesting distinct physiological impacts of different BFRE modalities.