Blunted Exercise Pressor Response to Isometric Knee Extension and Post-Exercise Ischemia in Individuals with Down Syndrome

Individuals with DS demonstrated a diminished metaboreflex response compared with their peers without DS, during a task known to induce sympathoexcitation. Our findings suggest that reduced influence of the metaboreflex contributes to the reduced exercise pressor response in individuals with DS. Such exercise-specific peripheral autonomic alterations extend beyond our previous cardiac autonomic findings demonstrating blunted sympathoexcitatory perturbations in individuals with DS, which may contribute to reduced work capacity observed in this population.