Arterial blood pressure and forearm vascular conductance responses to sustained and rhythmic isometric exercise and arterial occlusion in trained rock climbers and untrained sedentary subjects

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Abstract
Cardiovascular responses to sustained and rhythmic (5 s on, 2 s off ) forearm isometric exercise to fatigue at 40% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and to a period of arterial occlusion were investigated in elite rock climbers (CLIMB) as a trained population compared to non-climbing sedentary subjects (SED). Blood pressure (BP), monitored continuously by Finapres, and forearm blood flow, by venous occlusion plethysmography, were measured and used to calculate vascular conductance. During sustained exercise, times to fatigue were not different between CLIMB and SED. However, peak increases in systolic (S) BP were significantly lower in CLIMB [25 (13) mmHg; (3.3 (1.7) kPa] than in SED [48 (17) mmHg; (6.4 (2.3) kPa] (PPP−1 · 100 ml−1 · mmHg−1; P<0.05]. The attenuated BP response to sustained isometric exercise could be due in part to enhanced forearm vasodilatory capacity, which also supports greater endurance during rhythmic exercise by permitting greater functional hyperaemia in between contraction phases. Such adaptations would all facilitate the ability of rock climbers to perform their task of making repetitive sustained contractions.

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