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Age and Ageing Advance Access published online on October 1, 2008
Age and Ageing, doi:10.1093/ageing/afn195
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Attenuated peripheral vasoconstriction during an orthostatic challenge in older men

Jan T. Groothuis1,2, Dick H. J. Thijssen1, Miriam Kooijman1,2, Rebecca Paulus1 and Maria T. E. Hopman1

1 Department of Physiology, Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Address correspondence to: Maria T. E. Hopman, Department of Physiology (143), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Geert Grooteplein-noord 21, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Tel: (+31) 24 3613650; Fax: (+31) 24 3540535. Email: M.Hopman{at}fysiol.umcn.nl

Background: orthostatic hypotension is common in older men and associated with morbidity and mortality. During orthostatic challenges, older men maintain their blood pressure by an augmented increase in total peripheral resistance. Changes in the leg vascular bed contribute importantly to blood pressure regulation during orthostatic challenges, partly because of blood pooling in the legs. Little is known about the contribution of the leg vascular bed to the augmented increase in total peripheral resistance.

Objective: to examine tilt-induced peripheral vasoconstriction in the leg vascular bed of young and older men.

Methods: we measured forearm and calf blood flow in 12 young and 12 older men, using venous occlusion plethysmography during 30° head-up tilt (HUT). Forearm and calf vascular resistance were calculated as mean arterial blood pressure divided by blood flow.

Results: during HUT, calf and forearm vascular resistance increased in older and young men. The increase in forearm vascular resistance was similar between older (40 ± 6%) and young men (51 ± 12%). However, the increase in calf vascular resistance was lower in older (96 ± 15%) than in young men (175 ± 30%).

Conclusion: advancing age leads to an attenuated tilt-induced increase in calf vascular resistance, which may contribute to age-related orthostatic hypotension.

Keywords: ageing, blood flow, head-up tilt, sympathetic nervous system, vascular resistance, elderly

Received 27 November 2007; accepted in revised form 11 April 2008.


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