Blunted local but preserved remote vascular responses after resistance exercise in chronic heart failure

Background: A single aerobic exercise session increases blood flow and vascular reactivity in remote vascular areas in chronic heart failure (CHF). We hypothesized that CHF patients would present increased vascular reactivity after a resistance exercise session.

Methods: Ten CHF patients and 10 healthy controls participated in three experiments, on different days: (1) 25-min rest (control); (2) 25-min lower-limb resistance exercises with vascular measurements in the calf (RELL); and (3) 25-min lower-limb resistance exercises with vascular measurements in the forearm (REUL). Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), forearm blood flow (FBF), and calf blood flow (CBF) were measured at baseline, immediately, and 10, 30, and 60 min after the interventions. Calf and forearm reactive hyperaemia (RH) were measured at baseline and at 10, 30, and 60 min post interventions.

Results: Mean BP was unchanged throughout the protocols in CHF patients, whereas healthy controls had postexercise reduction up to 60 and 10 min after RELL and REUL sessions, respectively. Forearm RH (30- min post exercise) indicated remote effects and was increased by 36% and 43% (p < 0.05) in CHF patients and controls, respectively. Both groups increased postexercise calf RH (local effect) up to 60 min; however, healthy controls presented larger responses compared with patients (73% vs. 39%, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Patients with CHF present blunted vascular responses in the exercised areas, but remote vascular reactivity responses are similar to those observed in healthy individuals, suggesting that resistance exercise may remotely contribute to vascular adaptation in nontrained vasculatures.