The role of cardiopulmonary baroreflex on sympathetic vasomotor outflow and blood pressure regulation during dynamic exercise

Abstract

Precise cardiovascular adjustments are necessary to meet the metabolic demands of working skeletal muscle during dynamic exercise. Appropriate regulation of sympathetic vasomotor outflow is key for maintaining arterial blood pressure (ABP) and facilitating the delivery of blood flow to active skeletal muscle. Central command, the exercise pressor reflex (including mechanoreflex and metaboreflex within skeletal muscle), and the arterial baroreflex work in concert, creating complex interactions that regulate sympathetic vasomotor outflow during dynamic exercise. Although less well studied, limited evidence suggests that the cardiopulmonary baroreflex plays a significant role in modulating MSNA (muscle sympathetic nerve activity) and ABP responses during mild-intensity dynamic exercise, as well as in resetting the arterial baroreflex during dynamic exercise. This review provides an updated and comprehensive overview of the sympathetic vasomotor outflow and the ABP response during dynamic exercise via the cardiopulmonary baroreflex.

Keywords: Blood pressure; Dynamic exercise; MSNA; Sympathetic nerve activity.