Reflex cardiovascular responses to cold exposure of the face or foot.

Six subjects performed a breathholding maneuver during facial cooling and immersed their foot in cold water, without drugs and after the intravenous administration of propranolol plus atropine (P + A). Cardiac interval (INT), mean interval for longest consecutive 5 cycles (L5INT/5); systolic time intervals including electromechanical systole (EMS), left ventricular ejection time (LVET), pre-ejection period (PEP), and PEP/LVET; and systolic (SP) and diastolic pressures (DP) were monitored during supine rest, during apnea with a plastic bag of ice water on the face, and from 16-30th and 46-60th sec of 1-min periods of foot immersion in 4 degrees C water. P+A administration induced reduction in INT, L5INT/5, and LVET and increase in PEP, PEP/LVET, and DP.

Cardiovascular response to cooling of limbs determined by noninvasive methods.

Cold, even local exposure to a limited portion of the body, is a stress to man which elevates arterial pressure, thereby intensifying cardiac workload. The sequence of cardiac events following local cooling was noninvasively studied by observation of changes in cardiac interval, left ventricular ejection time, time from A wave of electrocardiogram to the peak of the dD/dt of the carotid pulse wave (which includes pre-ejection period), and amplitude of the pulse wave from a photoelectric cell on the earlobe, along with arterial pressures. Twelve subjects, aged 22--41 years, exposed a hand or foot to cold water for 1 min while seated and while supine (four experiements each).