Muscle metaboreflex-induced central blood volume mobilization in heart failure

Underperfusion of active skeletal muscle causes metabolites to accumulate and stimulate group III and IV skeletal muscle afferents, which triggers a powerful pressor response termed the muscle metaboreflex. Muscle metaboreflex activation (MMA) during submaximal dynamic exercise in healthy individuals increases arterial pressure mainly via substantial increases in cardiac output (CO). The increases in CO occur via the combination of tachycardia and increased ventricular contractility. Importantly, MMA also elicits substantial central blood volume mobilization, which allows the ventricular responses to sustain the increases in CO. Otherwise preload would fall and the increases in CO could not be maintained. In subjects with systolic heart failure (HF), the ability to increase CO during exercise and MMA is markedly reduced, which has been attributed to impaired ventricular contractility. Whether the ability to maintain preload during MMA in HF is preserved is unknown. Using a conscious chronically instrumented canine model, we observed that MMA in HF is able to raise central blood volume similarly as in normal subjects. Therefore, the loss of the ability to raise CO during MMA in HF is not because of the loss of the ability to mobilize blood volume centrally. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In normal subjects during dynamic exercise muscle metaboreflex activation elicits large increases in cardiac output that occur via increases in heart rate, ventricular contractility, and, importantly, marked central blood volume mobilization that acts to maintain ventricular preload, thereby allowing the changes in cardiac function to maintain the increases in cardiac output. In subjects with heart failure, the ability to raise cardiac output during muscle metaboreflex activation is impaired. We investigated whether this is because of the inability to maintain ventricular preload. We found that this reflex is still able to elicit large increases in central blood volume, and therefore the limited ability to raise cardiac output likely stems from ventricular dysfunction and not the ability to maintain preload.