Abstract
Purpose
Cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) is known to protect humans against local cold injuries and improve manual dexterity. The current study examined the effects of metabolic heat production on cold-induced vasodilation responses in normobaric hypoxia and normoxia.
Methods
Ten participants immersed their non-dominant hand into 5 °C water for 15 min. Minimum finger temperature (Tmin), maximum finger temperature (Tmax), onset time, amplitude, and peak time were measured before and after exercise under normoxia (21% O2) and two levels of normobaric hypoxia (17% O2 and 13% O2).
Results
Neither Tmin nor amplitude was affected by hypoxia. However, Tmax was significantly decreased by hypoxia while reduction in onset time and peak time trended towards significance. Tmin, Tmax, and amplitude were significantly higher during post-exercise CIVD than pre-exercise CIVD.
Conclusion
The CIVD response may be negatively affected by the introduction of hypoxia whereas metabolic heat production via exercise may counteract adverse effects of hypoxia and improve CIVD responses.
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Abbreviations
- BP:
-
Blood pressure
- CIVD:
-
Cold-induced vasodilation
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- MHP:
-
Metabolic heat production
- NH13:
-
13% O2
- NH17:
-
17% O2
- NN21:
-
21% O2
- SpO2 :
-
Peripheral oxygen saturation
- T b :
-
Mean body temperature
- T max :
-
Maximum finger temperature
- T min :
-
Minimum finger temperature
- T re :
-
Rectal temperature
- T sk :
-
Skin temperature
- VO2 :
-
Oxygen uptake
- VO2max :
-
Maximal oxygen uptake
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HG assisted in study design, data collection, and manuscript authorship; YS assisted in study design and manuscript authorship; JV assisted in data collection and manuscript authorship; BF assisted in data collection and manuscript authorship; JB assisted in study design and data analysis; JK assisted in study design and manuscript authorship; TQ assisted in manuscript authorship; EG assisted in data collection and manuscript authorship.
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Communicated by George Havenith.
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Gerhart, H.D., Seo, Y., Vaughan, J. et al. Cold-induced vasodilation responses before and after exercise in normobaric normoxia and hypoxia. Eur J Appl Physiol 119, 1547–1556 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04144-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04144-3