Reduced blood flow in abdominal viscera measured by Doppler ultrasound during one-legged knee extension

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Abstract
The redistribution of blood flow (BF) in the abdominal viscera during right-legged knee extension-flexion exercise at very low intensity [peak heart rate (HR), 76 beats/min] was examined by using Doppler ultrasound. While sitting, subjects performed a right-legged knee extension-flexion exercise every 6 s for 20 min. BF was measured in the upper abdominal aorta (Ao), right common femoral artery (RCFA), and left common femoral artery (LCFA). Visceral BF (BFVis) was determined by the equation [BFAo − (BFRCFA + BFLCFA)]. A comparison with the change in BF (ΔBF) preexercise showed a greater increase in ΔBFRCFA than in ΔBFAo during exercise. This resulted in a reduction of BFVisto 56% of its preexercise value or a decrease in flow by 1,147 ± 293 (±SE) ml/min at the peak workload. Oxygen consumption correlated positively with ΔBFAo, ΔBFRCFA, and ΔBFLCFA but inversely with ΔBFVis during exercise and recovery. Furthermore, BFVis (% of preexercise value) correlated inversely with both an increase in HR (r = −0.89), and percent peak oxygen consumption (r = −0.99). This study demonstrated that, even during very-low-intensity exercise (HR <90 beats/min), there was a significant shift in BF from the viscera to the exercising muscles.