Does blood flow restriction training trigger reflex cardiovascular responses during low-intensity exercise?
Blood flow restriction training during low-intensity exercise can trigger significant increases in blood pressure and sympathetic activity, warranting caution in vulnerable patients.
Blood flow restriction training (BFRT) increases muscle mass, strength, and endurance. There has been minimal consideration of the reflex cardiovascular responses that could be elicited during BFRT sessions. We showed that during low-intensity exercise BFRT may trigger large reflex increases in blood pressure and sympathetic activity due to muscle metaboreflex activation. Thus, we urge caution when employing BFRT, especially in patients in whom exaggerated cardiovascular responses may occur that could cause sudden, adverse cardiovascular events.
Mannozzi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.