Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Lestage, Robert B.
Author's Email Address	rlesta1@lsu.edu
URN	etd-05312006-163518
Title	Examination of Blood Flow Using Vasoconstrictor and Vasodilator Stimuli: Stability and Reproducibility
Degree	Master of Science (M.S.)
Department	Kinesiology
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Michael Welsch Committee Chair Arnold G. Nelson Committee Member Maria Kosma Committee Member
Keywords	plethysmography blood flow distribution
Date of Defense	2006-05-17
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Blood flow distribution relies on the vasculature’s ability to vasodilate and vasoconstrict throughout the body. Most previous research has focused on only one of these abilities, either vasodilation or vasoconstriction. For example, Thijssen et al. (2005) focused their research on vasodilation by studying reactive hyperemia, while Kinuyoshi et al. (2003) studied the possible vasoconstriction effect with increasing muscle sympathetic nerve activity. The purpose of this study was to assess vascular function using a variety of stimuli to potentially learn more about overall vascular health, while determining the stability and reliability of blood flow measurements using strain gauge plethysmography. Measures of vascular function were examined in 12 individuals [age=21±1 yrs]. Right lower leg resting arterial inflow, post occlusion reactive hyperemia, dynamic exercise blood flow, and blood flow following a cold stimulus were assessed on two separate occasions. The average resting arterial inflow was 2.27 ± 1.06 ml/100ml/min, reactive hyperemic blood flow was 19.42 ± 6.37 ml/100ml/min, exercise blood flow was 27.37 ± 14.95 ml/100ml/min, and blood flow following a cold stimulus was 1.53 ± 0.89 ml/100ml/min. A rather unique finding was the associations between the stimuli blood flow responses, by which those with the greatest reactive hyperemia blood flow responses also exhibited the greatest exercise blood flows and greatest drop in blood flow following the cold stimulus. In conclusion, the pattern of the blood flow responses and the correlations among the measurements, in addition to being stable and reliable, provide us with a greater understanding of the blood flow distribution properties of the vasculature.
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