Vascular flow reserve as a link between long-term blood pressure level and physical performance capacity in mammals

TY - JOUR

T1 - Vascular flow reserve as a link between long-term blood pressure level and physical performance capacity in mammals

AU - Poulsen, Christian B

AU - Damkjær, Mads

AU - Hald, Bjørn O

AU - Wang, Tobias

AU - von Holstein-Rathlou, Niels-Henrik

AU - Jacobsen, Jens Christian Brings

N1 - © 2016 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Physiological Society and The Physiological Society.

PY - 2016/6/1

Y1 - 2016/6/1

N2 - Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is surprisingly similar across different species of mammals, and it is, in general, not known which factors determine the arterial pressure level. Mammals often have a pronounced capacity for sustained physical performance. This capacity depends on the vasculature having a flow reserve that comes into play as tissue metabolism increases. We hypothesize that microvascular properties allowing for a large vascular flow reserve is linked to the level of the arterial pressure.To study the interaction between network properties and network inlet pressure, we developed a generic and parsimonious computational model of a bifurcating microvascular network where diameter and growth of each vessel evolves in response to changes in biomechanical stresses. During a simulation, the network develops well-defined arterial and venous vessel characteristics. A change in endothelial function producing a high precapillary resistance and thus a high vascular flow reserve is associated with an increase in network inlet pressure. Assuming that network properties are independent of body mass, and that inlet pressure of the microvascular network is a proxy for arterial pressure, the study provides a conceptual explanation of why high performing animals tend to have a high MAP.

AB - Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is surprisingly similar across different species of mammals, and it is, in general, not known which factors determine the arterial pressure level. Mammals often have a pronounced capacity for sustained physical performance. This capacity depends on the vasculature having a flow reserve that comes into play as tissue metabolism increases. We hypothesize that microvascular properties allowing for a large vascular flow reserve is linked to the level of the arterial pressure.To study the interaction between network properties and network inlet pressure, we developed a generic and parsimonious computational model of a bifurcating microvascular network where diameter and growth of each vessel evolves in response to changes in biomechanical stresses. During a simulation, the network develops well-defined arterial and venous vessel characteristics. A change in endothelial function producing a high precapillary resistance and thus a high vascular flow reserve is associated with an increase in network inlet pressure. Assuming that network properties are independent of body mass, and that inlet pressure of the microvascular network is a proxy for arterial pressure, the study provides a conceptual explanation of why high performing animals tend to have a high MAP.

KW - Animals

KW - Arterial Pressure

KW - Hemodynamics

KW - Microcirculation

KW - Microvessels

KW - Models, Cardiovascular

KW - Vascular Resistance

U2 - 10.14814/phy2.12813

DO - 10.14814/phy2.12813

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27255360

SN - 2051-817X

VL - 4

SP - 1

EP - 21

JO - Physiological Reports

JF - Physiological Reports

IS - 11

M1 - e12813

ER -