The pressor response to voluntary and electrically evoked isometric contractions in man

Blood pressure and heart rate changes during sustained isometric exercise were studied in 11 healthy male volunteers. The responses were measured during voluntary and involuntary contractions of the biceps brachii at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), and the triceps surae at 30% and 50% MVC. Involuntary contractions were evoked by percutaneous electrical stimulation of the muscle. Measurements of the time to peak tension of maximal twitch showed the biceps brachii (67.0 +/- 7.9 ms) muscle to be rapidly contracting, and the triceps surae (118.0 +/- 10.5 ms) to be slow contracting. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased linearly throughout the contractions, and systolic blood pressure increased more rapidly than diastolic. There was no significant difference in response to stimulated or voluntary contractions, nor was there any significant difference between the responses to contractions of the calf or arm muscles at the same relative tension. In contrast the heart rate rose to a higher level (P less than 0.01) in the biceps brachii than the triceps surae at given % MVC, and during voluntary compared with the electrically evoked contractions in the two muscle groups. It was concluded that the arterial blood pressure response to isometric contractions, unlike heart rate, is primarily due to a reflex arising within the active muscles (cf. Hultman and Sjöholm 1982) which is associated with relative tension but independent of contraction time and muscle mass.