title: Exercise-induced muscle vasodilatation and treadmill exercise test responses in individuals without overt heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The beneficial effects of exercise on cardiovascular health may be related to the improvement in several physiologic pathways, including peripheral vascular function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular responses during the treadmill exercise test and exercise-induced muscle vasodilatation in individuals without overt heart disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 796 asymptomatic subjects (431 females and 365 males) without overt heart disease. We evaluated the heart rate (chronotropic reserve and heart rate recovery), blood pressure (maximum systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as systolic blood pressure recovery) and exercise capacity during symptom-limited treadmill exercise testing. Exercise-induced muscle vasodilatation was studied with venous occlusion plethysmography and estimated by forearm blood flow and vascular conductance responses during a 3-min handgrip maneuver.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forearm blood flow increase during the handgrip exercise was positively associated with heart rate recovery during treadmill exercise testing (p < 0.001). Forearm vascular conductance increase during the handgrip exercise was inversely associated with exercise diastolic blood pressure during exercise treadmill testing (p = 0.038). No significant association was found between exercise capacity and exercise-induced muscle vasodilation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a sample of individuals without overt heart disease, exercise-induced muscle vasodilatation was associated with heart rate and blood pressure responses during treadmill exercise testing, but was not associated with exercise capacity. These findings suggest that favorable hemodynamic and chronotropic responses are associated with better vasodilator capacity, but exercise capacity does not predict muscle vasodilatation.
authors.affiliation: Heart Institute (InCor) do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael Amorim Belo
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Giampaoli
authors.forename: Humberto Felício Gonçalves
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: de Freitas
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: da Costa Pereira
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: Gustavo Ferreira
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Maria Urbana Pinto Brandão
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Rondon
authors.forename: Carlos Eduardo
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Negrão
authors.forename: Alfredo José
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mansur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply*; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult