H Hsiu et al 2006 Physiol. Meas. 27 131 doi:10.1088/0967-3334/27/2/004
H Hsiu1, M Y Jan2, W K Wang2 and Y Y Lin Wang2,3
Show affiliationsThe effects of mechanical stimulation on hemodynamics, such as due to mechanotransduction in vascular endothelial cells, have been widely discussed recently. We previously proposed a resonance model in which the arterial system is treated as a pressure-transmitting system, and suggested that the application of external mechanical stimulation with frequencies near the heart rate (HR) or harmonics thereof can be sensed by the arterial system and induce hemodynamic changes. In this study, we monitored the effects of external mechanical stimulation at a frequency of double the HR on BPW (blood pressure waveform), HRV (HR variability) and BPHV (blood-pressure-harmonics variability) in rats. A motor beating a waterbed mattress was used to generate pressure variations of 0.5 mmHg to apply onto the rats. The experiments were performed on three groups of rats with different beating frequencies: (A) double the HR, (B) 5% deviation from double the HR and (C) 1.5 times the HR. The experimental procedure was a 15 min control period followed by application of the mechanical stimulation for 15 min and further recording for 15 min (OFF period). During the OFF period, the amplitude of the second harmonic in the BPW significantly increased by >5% in group A with decreased HRV and BPHV. The second harmonic increased less in group B, and decreased in group C. The increase in the second-harmonic amplitude in group A may be due to the filtering properties of the renal arterial structure. This mechanism could be used to improve the local blood supply into the kidneys, and hence provide a new treatment modality for some important diseases, such as renal hypertension or nephrosis.
87.19.rh Fluid transport and rheology
87.19.R- Mechanical and electrical properties of tissues and organs
Issue 2 (February 2006)
Received 18 March 2005, accepted for publication 8 December 2005
Published 4 January 2006
H Hsiu et al 2006 Physiol. Meas. 27 131
Brian R Hunt and Vadim Yu Kaloshin 1999 Nonlinearity 12 1263
Tan Ning et al 2002 Chinese Phys. 11 670
B Willke et al 2006 Class. Quantum Grav. 23 S207
Yao Té et al 2003 Metrologia 40 24
V A Zaznoba et al 1979 Plasma Phys. 21 557
Jun-ho Choi et al 2006 Nanotechnology 17 2246
S Hild et al 2006 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 32 66
B A Unvala and R C S Morling 1974 J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 7 968
S Carlip 1998 Class. Quantum Grav. 15 2629