Cardiovascular responses to lower body negative pressure in endurance and static exercise-trained men

The cardiovascular responses to lower body negative pressure (LBNP) (to -50 torr) were examined in 8 sedentary control (UT), 8 endurance-trained (ET), and 8 weight-trained (WT) human subjects. The results were used to compare and contrast the blood pressure control system of the three subject groups. The primary differences in response included a more effective maintenance of blood pressure, by reason of greater stroke volume and cardiac indices of the WT subjects during LBNP (P less than 0.05). Peripheral vascular resistances were not different (P greater than 0.05) throughout LBN P between the three groups. Therefore, the improved blood pressure maintenance of the WT subjects was attributed to a cardiac effect. The ET subjects were less effective in maintaining blood pressure than UT or WT subjects. This finding was apparently due to an attenuated baroreflex sensitivity, as evidenced by a significantly (P less than 0.05) lower delta heart rate/delta systemic blood pressure ratio, 0.99 for ET vs 1.51 and 1.38 or the UT and WT groups respectively, calculated from the responses observed from 0 to -50 torr of LBNP.