Observational studyBMC anesthesiology2026
Investigating the potential of the isometric handgrip exercise as a test of cardiovascular reactivity to blood pressure fluctuations.
Observational study in BMC anesthesiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn the perioperative setting, blood-pressure fluctuations can cause adverse outcomes, underscoring the need to identify vulnerable patients preoperatively. Imaging-based cardiovascular diagnostic tests are rapidly evolving, yet few are developed with anaesthesia in mind. This highlights an opportunity to develop techniques that evaluate the cardiovascular response to changes in blood pressure, but early feasibility studies in healthy controls are needed before clinical application. In combination with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, the isometric handgrip test has the potential to comprehensively assess how the heart and ascending aorta respond to transiently elevated blood pressure. We investigated the effect of an isometric handgrip exercise on myocardial tissue features with atrial, ventricular, and aortic function and coupling in healthy adults, assessed by CMR.
methodsIn a single-centre observational study, 45 healthy adults underwent a CMR exam. Following acquisition of non-invasive blood pressure as well as cardiac and aortic rest images, participants sustained a grip of a dynamometer at 30% of their maximal strength. After a 2.5 min adjustment period, identical images were acquired. Myocardial blood volume and oxygenation were measured using parametric mapping and oxygenation-sensitive imaging. Furthermore, aortic function was assessed via vascular strain and flow parameters, while atrial and ventricular function were assessed through long-axis shortening. Coupling was calculated from atrial, ventricular and aortic parameters.
resultsThe isometric handgrip exercise improved left ventricular and left atrial systolic (-18.4±2.6% to -19.3±3.3%, p < 0.05 and 36.2±6.4% to 39.6±7.9%, p < 0.01) and late diastolic function (4.4 ± 1.7% to 5.1 ± 1.6%, p = 0.04 and -11.5 ± 4.5% to -14.8 ± 5.3%, p < 0.01), assessed by long-axis shortening. Aortic strain, reflecting vascular elasticity, decreased (31.0±11.3% to 26.1±12.3%, p < 0.01). The ventricular-arterial systolic coupling index dropped (31.0 ± 11.3% to 26.1 ± 12.3%, p < 0.01), while atrio-ventricular coupling remained unchanged. While myocardial blood volume did not change (T1: 1193±25ms to 1194±22ms, p = 0.77), myocardial oxygenation decreased (-2.9% [95%CI: -4.4, -1.3], p = 0.02).
conclusionsThe isometric handgrip exercise effectively increased afterload and elicited augmented cardiovascular function and myocardial oxygen demand in healthy adults. Our data demonstrate the physiological changes expected from increased afterload in healthy hearts. Future studies in patient cohorts are warranted to investigate if it has potential as diagnostic tool for preoperative stress testing.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.