In: Anatomy and Physiology
Describe the impact that the exercise pressor reflex and autoregulation have on cardiac output and skeletal muscle blood flow during exercise.
Ans
Reductions in oxygen availability by either reduced arterial O2 content or reduced perfusion pressure can have profound influences on the circulation, including vasodilation in skeletal muscle vascular beds. The combination of submaximal exercise and hypoxia produces a “compensatory” vasodilation and augmented blood flow in contracting muscles relative to the same level of exercise under normoxic conditions. A similar compensatory vasodilation is observed in response to local reductions in oxygen availability (i.e., hypoperfusion) during normoxic exercise. Activation of chemosensitive afferent nerves in the active muscle evokes reflex increases in sympathetic outflow and arterial pressure, termed the muscle chemoreflex or metaboreflex. The increased pressure is thought to augment blood flow to the contracting muscle and partially restore the flow/metabolism matching. The reflex pressor response in humans is engaged during exercise with ischemia and/or hypoperfusion. However, stimulation of the muscle chemoreflex evokes a large increase in vasoconstricting sympathetic nerve traffic directed toward the skeletal muscle