Aging exaggerates blood pressure response to ischemic rhythmic handgrip exercise in humans

Figures

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  FIGURE 1. Protocols of experiments (Exp.) 1 and 2. In Exp. 1, after the baseline rest measurements (first baseline), the participants performed isometric handgrip (IHG) exercise, followed by a 3 min session of postexercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) without any exercise (rest). During IHG, the participants held the grip force transducer (shown in gray) in their left hand at 30% of their maximum voluntary contraction. PEMI was induced using the inflated cuff (shown in gray) on the left upper arm at a pressure of 250 mmHg. In Exp. 2, after the first baseline measurements, the participants performed passive wrist movement (PWM) and then rhythmic handgrip (RHG) exercise sessions, each for 1 min without PEMI. During PWM, the experimenter (shown in gray) fully extended and flexed the participant's left wrist (shown in white) at a rate of 60 repetitions/min. During RHG, the participant fully flexed and extended their left hand to grip the force transducer (shown in gray) at a rate of 60 repetitions/min using minimal effort. After a sufficient period of rest, the participants performed IHG exercise followed by a 3 min session of PEMI. Participants performed PWM during the 2nd minute (PEMI + PWM) and…

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  FIGURE 2. Comparisons of the circulatory responses between the three age groups from the first baseline rest to passive wrist movement (PWM) (left) and from the second baseline rest (PEMI + Rest) to PWM (PEMI + PWM) during postexercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) (right). The first and second baselines are explained in Figure 1. SBP (a), DBP (b), and HR (c) indicate systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate, respectively. “Young,” “middle,” and “older” represent the young, middle‐aged, and older adult groups, respectively. † p < 0.05 versus PWM in each group. The number of participants is shown in parentheses. The dots and bars illustrate individual and mean values, respectively

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  FIGURE 3. Comparisons of the circulatory responses between the three age groups from the first baseline rest to rhythmic handgrip (RHG) exercise (left) and from the second baseline rest (PEMI + Rest) to RHG exercise (PEMI + RHG) during postexercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) (right). The first and second baselines are explained in Figure 1. SBP (a), DBP (b), and HR (c) indicate systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate, respectively. “Young,” “middle,” and “older” represent the young, middle‐aged, and older adult groups, respectively. *p < 0.05; † p < 0.05 versus RHG in each group. The number of participants is shown in parentheses. The dots and bars illustrate individual and mean values, respectively