Chapters authored
Mechanical Limits of Cardiac Output at Maximal Aerobic Exercise
This chapter uses an analytic approach to the factors limiting maximal aerobic exercise. A person’s maximal aerobic work is determined by their maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Cardiac output is the dominant determinant of VO2 and thus the primary determinant of population differences in VO2max. Furthermore, cardiac output is the product of heart rate and stroke volume and maximum heart rate is determined solely by a person’s age. Thus, maximum stroke volume is the major factor for physiological differences in aerobic performance. Stroke output must be matched by stroke volume return, which is determined by the mechanical properties of the systemic circulation. These are primarily the compliances of each vascular region and the resistances between them. I first discuss the physiological principles controlling cardiac output and venous return. Emphasis is placed on the importance of the distribution of blood flow between the parallel compliances of muscle and splanchnic beds as described by August Krogh in 1912. I then present observations from a computational modeling study on the mechanical factors that must change to reach known maximum cardiac outputs during aerobic exercise. A key element that comes out of the analysis is the role of the muscle pump in achieving high cardiac outputs.
Part of the book: Exercise Physiology