Acute Effects Of Resistance Exercise On Cardiovascular Responses In People Living With Hiv

It remains unclear whether a session of resistance exercise (RE) induces post-exercise hypotension (PEH) in people living with HIV (PLHIV). PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare cardiovascular responses to an RE session in PLHIV versus uninfected controls. METHODS: Nine PLHIV (HIV+; 47.2 ± 9.5 years) and nine uninfected controls (HIV-; 44.4 ± 10.2 years) completed, in randomized order, a control session (no exercise) and an RE session (6 exercises; 3 sets of 12 maximum repetitions). Cardiovascular responses were assessed using digital photoplethysmography before and up to 60 minutes after the sessions. RESULTS: At rest, there were no significant differences between groups in systolic/diastolic blood pressure [SBP/DBP] (HIV-: 120.8 ± 12.5/75.8 ± 6.5 vs. HIV+: 126.7 ± 18.5/75.7 ± 9.8 mmHg; p = 0.4), heart rate [HR] (HIV-: 60.9 ± 10.8 vs. HIV+: 66.4 ± 8.2 bpm; p = 0.2), stroke volume [SV] (HIV-: 85.2 ± 17.7 vs. HIV+: 100.0 ± 24.4 mL; p = 0.1), or peripheral vascular resistance [PVR] (HIV-: 1.17 ± 0.30 vs. HIV+: 0.92 ± 0.22 mmHg.s/mL; p = 0.07). Cardiac output [CO] was higher in the HIV+ group than in the HIV- group (6.5 ± 0.9 vs. 5.2 ± 1.1 L/min; p = 0.02). Net effect analysis [(post-pre-exercise session) - (post-pre-control session)] showed that the HIV+ versus HIV- group had a greater reduction in SBP (-6.5 ± 7.0 vs. -2.8 ± 9.4 mmHg; p = 0.01), in DBP (-14.5 ± 2.3 vs. -3.7 ± 4.4 mmHg; p = 0.001), and a larger increase in CO (1.34 ± 0.16 vs. 0.80 ± 0.16 L/min; p = 0.02) and HR (20.37 ± 10.62 vs. 12.15 ± 12.61 bpm, p = 0.001) during post-exercise recovery. Within-group reductions (exercise session vs. control) occurred in the HIV- group for DBP (~7 mmHg, from 15 to 60 min; p < 0.05) and PVR (~0.38 mmHg.s/mL, from 30 to 45 min; p < 0.05), along with an increase in CO (~1.0 L/min, from 15 to 60 min; p < 0.05). In the HIV+ group, only DBP reduction (~8 mmHg, from 15 to 60 min) was observed in the exercise session vs. control (p < 0.05). HR was elevated in the exercise session compared to the control in both groups at all evaluated times (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: An RE session induces more pronounced PEH in PLHIV than in uninfected individuals. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, possibly related to altered cardiovascular regulation in PLHIV. Supported by: This study was financed in part by the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ; E-26/200.132/2023) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, 404204/2023-6).