Title

Group III/IV Muscle Afferents Impair Limb Blood in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Embargo Period

5-17-2017

Keywords

Circulation, exercise pressor reflex, sensory neurons, autonomic control

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To better understand the hemodynamic and autonomic reflex abnormalities in heart-failure patients (HF), we investigated the influence of group III/IV muscle afferents on their cardiovascular response to rhythmic exercise.

METHODS: Nine HF-patients (NYHA class-II, mean left ventricular ejection-fraction: 27 ± 3%) performed single leg knee-extensor exercise (25/50/80% peak-workload) under control conditions and with lumbar intrathecal fentanyl impairing μ-opioid receptor-sensitive muscle afferents.

RESULTS:Cardiac-output (Q) and femoral blood-flow (QL) were determined, and arterial/venous blood samples collected at each workload. Exercise-induced fatigue was estimated via pre/post-exercise changes in quadriceps strength. There were no hemodynamic differences between conditions at rest. During exercise, Q was 8-13% lower with Fentanyl-blockade, secondary to significant reductions in stroke volume and heart rate. Lower norepinephrine spillover during exercise with Fentanyl revealed an attenuated sympathetic outflow that likely contributed to the 25% increase in leg vascular conductance (p

CONCLUSION/PRACTICE/IMPLICATIONS: Although group III/IV muscle afferents play a critical role for central hemodynamics in HF-patients, it also appears that these sensory neurons cause excessive sympatho-excitation impairing QL which likely contributes to the exercise intolerance in this population.

Published In

International journal of cardiology

Volume

174

Issue

2

Pages

368-375

DOI

10.1016/j.ijcard.2014.04.157

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