Key result
Individuals with lower relative handgrip strength exhibited similar blood pressure responses to a cold pressor test compared to those with higher strength, but demonstrated significantly higher sympathetic activation.
Why the study?
The study aimed to investigate the autonomic responses to a cold pressor test in individuals with different levels of muscle strength.
Does higher relative handgrip strength reduce autonomic reactivity to a cold pressor test in healthy young men?
Cross-Sectional (n=57)
Does higher relative handgrip strength reduce autonomic reactivity to a cold pressor test in healthy young men?
Higher relative handgrip strength is associated with reduced sympathetic hyper-reactivity and enhanced vagal recovery following acute cold stress, suggesting muscle strength may be a marker of favorable autonomic stress responses.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Handgrip strength should not guide autonomic reactivity assessment; cross-sectional data leaves open whether training alters sympathetic responses.
We aimed to investigate the autonomic responses to cold pressor test (CPT) in individual with different levels of muscle strength. 57 male subjects participated in the study. Volunteers were divided in tertiles according to their level of relative handgrip strength as Low (LS), Medium (MS) and High (HS). For the CPT the volunteers remained seated in resting for 15 minutes and inserted the right hand in cold water for two minutes. Blood pressure (BP) measurements were taken at rest, during CPT and during recovery. HRV was continuously recorded during the entire protocol. All three groups had similar BP variation, with the values of systolic blood pressure (SBP) increasing during CPT and diminishing during recovery until the third minute. At the first CPT minute LS group showed a substantial increase in low-frequency (LF) activity and a diminished high frequency (HF). LS also presented higher and lower values of LF and HF, respectively, than MS group at the first CPT minute. HS showed an increased vagal activity during recovery. In conclusion, individuals from LS presented similar BP responses to CPT than MS and HS groups but with higher sympathetic activation. HS individuals presented an elevated vagal activity during recovery.
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Filho et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy (n=57). Relative handgrip strength vs. Different tertiles of strength (Low vs Medium vs High) was evaluated on Autonomic response (low-frequency and high-frequency activity) during the cold pressor test. Individuals with lower relative handgrip strength exhibited similar blood pressure responses to a cold pressor test compared to those with higher strength, but demonstrated significantly higher sympathetic activation.
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