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Cutaneous vascular responses to isometric handgrip exercise during local heating and hyperthermia

Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon

Submitted 17 August 2004 ; accepted in final form 15 January 2005

The dramatic increase in skin blood flow and sweating observed during heat stress is mediated by poorly understood sympathetic cholinergic mechanisms. One theory suggests that a single sympathetic cholinergic nerve mediates cutaneous active vasodilation (AVD) and sweating via cotransmission of separate neurotransmitters, because AVD and sweating track temporally and directionally when activated during passive whole body heat stress. It has also been suggested that these responses are regulated independently, because cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) has been shown to decrease, whereas sweat rate increases, during combined hyperthermia and isometric handgrip exercise. We tested the hypothesis that CVC decreases during isometric handgrip exercise if skin blood flow is elevated using local heating to levels similar to that induced by pronounced hyperthermia but that this does not occur at lower levels of skin blood flow. Subjects performed isometric handgrip exercise as CVC was elevated at selected sites to varying levels by local heating (which is independent of AVD) in thermoneutral and hyperthermic conditions. During thermoneutral isometric handgrip exercise, CVC decreased at sites in which blood flow was significantly elevated before exercise (–6.5 ± 1.8% of maximal CVC at 41°C and –10.5 ± 2.0% of maximal CVC at 43°C; P < 0.05 vs. preexercise). During isometric handgrip exercise in the hyperthermic condition, an observed decrease in CVC was associated with the level of CVC before exercise. Taken together, these findings argue against withdrawal of AVD to explain the decrease in CVC observed during isometric handgrip exercise in hyperthermic conditions.

skin; human; thermoregulation; sudomotor

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