The effects of carotid baroreceptor stimulation on blood pressure variability in young male athletes and non-athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of carotid baroreceptor (BR) stimulation on blood pressure changes in young male volleyball players and non-athletes. Twenty five young male volleyball players and twenty-five young male non-athletes were recruited for voluntary participation in the present study. A neck suction device (Ekberg's model) was used for stimulation of carotid baroreceptor. In this study the duration of stimulation was 70 s, and the negative pressure used was -30 mm Hg. Blood pressures were recorded before, during and after ending of stimulation of carotid baroreceptors in sitting position. Indirect pressure assessment was utilized for data acquisition. According to the results of this study, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and pulse blood pressure (PBP) significantly decreased compared to baseline levels in two groups (P<0.001). This research showed that the maximum reduction in SBP and PBP occurred in the 25th second, while for DBP the maximum reduction time was seen in the 5th second during stimulation in two groups. Also, maximum reduction in mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in the group of athlete occurred in the 5th second, while in the group of non-athlete, it occurred in the 25th second. Our data showed a more reduction in SBP as compared with DBP, which was more evident in control group, although was not statistically significant. It is concluded that in athletes carotid baroreflex becomes more efficient due to long term physiological adaptations of exercise.