The combined effects of temperature and posture on regional blood flow and haemodynamics

Under simultaneous ambient temperature and postural stressors, integrated regional blood flow responses are required to maintain blood pressure and thermoregulatory homeostasis. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of ambient temperature and body posture on regional regulation of microvascular blood flow, specifically in the arms and legs.

Participants (N = 11) attended two sessions in which they experienced transient ambient conditions, in a climatic chamber. During each 60-min trial, ambient temperature increased from 15.7 (0.6) °C to 38.9 (0.6) °C followed by a linear decrease, and the participants were either standing or in a supine position throughout the trial; relative humidity in the chamber was maintained at 25.9 (6.6) %. Laser doppler flowmetry of the forearm (SkBF_arm) and calf (SkBF_calf), and haemodynamic responses (heart rate, HR; stroke volume, SV; cardiac output, CO; blood pressure, BP), were measured continuously. Analyses of heart rate variability and wavelet transform were also conducted.

SkBF_arm increased significantly at higher ambient temperatures (p = 0.003), but not SkBF_calf. The standing posture caused lower overall SkBF in both regions throughout the protocol, regardless of temperature (p < 0.001). HR and BP were significantly elevated, and SV significantly lowered, in response to separate and combined effects of higher ambient temperatures and a standing position (all p < 0.05); CO remained unchanged. Mechanistic analyses identified greater sympathetic nerve activation, and higher calf myogenic activation at peak temperatures, in the standing condition.

Mechanistically and functionally, arm vasculature responds to modulation from both thermoregulation and baroreceptor activity. The legs, meanwhile, are more sensitive to baroreflex regulatory mechanisms.