Artery Research

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Volume 2, Issue 1, February 2008, Pages 44 - 48

The direct effect of leg position on calf blood flow measured by venous occlusion plethysmography☆

Authors
Julie H. Corrigan, Joanna Burns*, Robert J. Huggett, Alan F. Mackintosh, David A.S.G. Mary
The Department of Cardiology, St James’s University Hospital, Beckett Wing, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF, United Kingdom
☆

This work was funded by the Hypertension Trust and the British Heart Foundation.

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 113 2064864; fax: +44 113 2066376. E-mail address: burnsjoanna1@hotmail.com (J. Burns).
Corresponding Author
Joanna Burns
Received 5 July 2007, Revised 12 November 2007, Accepted 13 November 2007, Available Online 26 December 2007.
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2007.11.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Vasomotor system; Regional blood flow; Vascular resistance
Abstract

Background: Venous occlusion plethysmography is commonly used to assess changes in calf blood flow (CBF). Although the leg is often positioned above the level of the heart to aid venous emptying during periods of cuff deflation, its direct effect on measured CBF is not known. We therefore planned to determine if CBF is affected by raising the calf region at the same body position during constant vasoconstrictor sympathetic nerve drive and haemodynamic variables.

Methods: We measured concomitant heart rate, arterial pressure, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), calf blood flow (CBF) and calf vascular resistance (CVR) in the semi-supine position with the leg supported by the heel at various elevations above the horizontal level.

Results: In 26 subjects we found that raising the leg to 40 ± 0.65° significantly increased CBF by about 23 ± 4.7% at constant haemodynamic variables and MSNA levels. Furthermore, in 10 of the 26 subjects this effect was graded within the same constant conditions. When the calf region was elevated to two positions at 22 ± 3.5° and 40 ± 1.5° from the horizontal level the increase in CBF, respectively, amounted to 13 ± 5.9% and 37 ± 5.9%.

Conclusions: It was shown that measurement of CBF by strain gauge venous occlusion plethysmography is directly affected by the position of the calf region above the horizontal level. It is suggested that this could confound measurement of calf blood flow in longitudinal and interventional studies.

Copyright
© 2007 Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

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<Previous Article In Issue
Next Article In Issue>
Journal
Artery Research
Volume-Issue
2 - 1
Pages
44 - 48
Publication Date
2007/12/26
ISSN (Online)
1876-4401
ISSN (Print)
1872-9312
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2007.11.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2007 Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Julie H. Corrigan
AU  - Joanna Burns
AU  - Robert J. Huggett
AU  - Alan F. Mackintosh
AU  - David A.S.G. Mary
PY  - 2007
DA  - 2007/12/26
TI  - The direct effect of leg position on calf blood flow measured by venous occlusion plethysmography☆
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 44
EP  - 48
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2007.11.001
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2007.11.001
ID  - Corrigan2007
ER  -