University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Winter 2014 An examination of vascular responses to acute isometric handgrip exercise and a complementary ischemic-reperfusion cuff protocol Joshua Seifarth University of Windsor, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Seifarth, Joshua, "An examination of vascular responses to acute isometric handgrip exercise and a complementary ischemic- reperfusion cuff protocol" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 5031. This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). 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An examination of vascular responses to acute isometric handgrip exercise and a complementary ischemic-reperfusion cuff protocol By: Joshua Seifarth A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Faculty of Human Kinetics in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Human Kinetics at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2013 © 2013 Joshua Seifarth An examination of vascular responses to acute isometric handgrip exercise and a complementary ischemic-reperfusion cuff protocol By: Joshua Seifarth APPROVED BY: _____________________________ Dr. Michael Boffa Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry _____________________________ Dr. Kevin Milne Department of Kinesiology _____________________________ Dr. Cheri McGowan, Advisor Department of Kinesiology November 19th, 2013 M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance Author’s Declaration of Originality I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published, or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fail dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University of Institution. iii M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance Abstract Isometric handgrip (IHG) training lowers resting arterial blood pressure (BP) in older, normotensive adults and it has been proposed that repeated exposure to oxidative stress, via IHG-induced ischemia-reperfusion (IR), could be an underlying mechanism. The objectives were to quantify the IHG neurovascular stimulus, determine if this IHG protocol elicits systemic vascular effects, and compare the response of the IHG stimulus to an IR cuff protocol. Vascular reactivity, assessed via flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and strain-gauge plethysmography (RVF), was determined prior-to and immediately-post an IHG bout in the exercised arm, non-exercised arm, and after IR in the reperfused arm. No significant differences were found in FMD or RVF after each of the three bouts. These findings suggest that vascular reactivity remains unchanged in either limb, both in response to an acute IHG bout and a complementary IR cuff protocol, indicating oxidative stress may not be a part of the acute IHG stimulus. iv M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to everyone who challenged me, changed me, and motivated me to become a better person. Thank you. I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor, Dr. Cheri McGowan, for her belief, support, guidance, expertise, and dedication over the course of my undergraduate and graduate career. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Kevin Milne and Dr. Michael Boffa. Your advice, guidance, and input throughout this research study were appreciated. To my family, for your support throughout this educational journey, thank you. Finally, I’d like to thank my girlfriend, Dayna, for your patience and support, for keeping my sanity when I had thought it was lost. v M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance Table of Contents Author’s Declaration of Originality: .............................................................................iii Abstract: ...........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements: ..........................................................................................................v List of Tables: ..................................................................................................................vii List of Figures: ...............................................................................................................viii List of Appendices: ..........................................................................................................ix Abbreviations: ...................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Literature Review: .....................................................1 1.1 Hypertension ...............................................................................................2 1.1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................2 1.1.2 Arterial Blood Pressure Regulation ............................................................3 1.1.3 Measurement of Blood Pressure ...............................................................13 1.1.4 Pathophysiology of Hypertension .............................................................17 1.1.5 Treatment and Prevention of Elevated Blood Pressure ............................23 1.2 Reactive Oxygen Species, Oxidative Stress and Arterial Blood Pressure.32 1.3 Ischemia-Reperfusion ...............................................................................41 References: ............................................................................................................45 CHAPTER 2: Sex differences in the neurovascular response to acute isometric handgrip exercise and a complementary ischemic-reperfusion cuff protocol...........61 2.1 Introduction: ...................................................................................................62 2.2 Purpose & Hypothesis: ..................................................................................68 2.3 Methods: ........................................................................................................69 2.4 Results: ............................................................................................................80 2.5 Discussion: ......................................................................................................85 2.6 Perspectives: ...................................................................................................90 References: ............................................................................................................92 Appendices: ...........................................................................................................96 Vita Auctoris: ......................................................................................................158 vi M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance List of Tables: Table 1: Baseline participant characteristics.....................................................................83 Table 2: Vascular reactivity following exercise intervention...........................................83 Table 3: Flow mediated dilation following exercise interventions...................................84 Table 4: Resistance vessel function following exercise interventions..............................85 vii M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance List of Figures: Figure 1: Vascular testing days.........................................................................................71 Figure 2: Assessment of BA diameter using AMS...........................................................77 viii M.H.K. Thesis – J. Seifarth University of Windsor – Applied Human Performance List of Appendices: